>/IH 


Issued  September  30,  1911. 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 

BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY.— BULLETIN  140. 
A.  D.  MELVIN,  CHiei"  ot  Burbau. 


te  FATTENING    POULTRY 


BY 


ALFRED  R.  LEE, 
Junior  Animal  Husbandman,  Animal  Husbandry  Division. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFHCE. 

1911. 


'O^a/, 


^^// 


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in  2007  with  funding  from 

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http://www.archive.org/details/fatteningpoultryOOIeeaiala 


Issued  September  30,  191 1 

U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY.— Buixktin  140. 

A.  D.  MELVIN,  Chief  of  Bu«eau. 


FATTENING    POULTRY 


BY 


ALFRED  R.  LEE, 

Junior  Anii/ial  Iltishandman,  minimal  Husbandry  Division. 


WASHINGTON: 
GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1911. 


THE  BUREAU  OF  ANIMAL  INDUSTRY. 


Chief:  A.  D.  Melvin. 
Assistant  Chief:  A.  M.  Fabrington. 
Chief  Clerk:  Charles  C.  Carroll. 

Animal  Husbandry  Division:  George  M.  Rommel,  chief. 
Biochemic  Division:  M.  Dorset,  chief. 
Dairy  Division:  B.  H.  Rawl,  chief. 

Inspection  Division:  Rice  P.  Steddom,  chief;  Morris  Wooden,  R.  A.  Ramsay, 
and  Albert  E.  Behnke,  associate  chiefs. 

Pathological  Division:  J oni^  R.  Mohler,  chief.. 
Quarantine  Division:  Richard  W.  Hickman,  chief. 
Zoological  Division:  B.  H.  Ransom,  chief. 
Experiment  Station:  E.  C.  Sciiroedee,  superintendent. 
Editor:  James  M.  Pickens. 
2 


LETTER   OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


United  States  Department  of  Agricultire, 

Bureau  of  Animal  Industry, 
Washington,  D.  C,  May  29,  1911. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  the  accompanying  manuscript 
entitled  "  Fattening  Poultry,''  by  Alfred  11.  Lee,  of  the  Animal 
Husbandry  Division  of  this  bureau,  and  to  recommend  its  publica- 
tion in  the  bulletin  series  of  the  bureau.  The  work  describes  methods 
of  feeding  poultry  on  a  large  conmiercial  scale,  and  presents  figures 
on  the  cost  of  such  feeding.  Mr.  I^e  devoted  the  greater  part  of 
the  past  summer  and  fall  to  this  work  and  collected  complete  data 
on  the  feeding  of  over  100,000  chickens.  He  also  secured  partial 
data  on  the  feeding  of  upward  of  200.000  others.  The  results  ob- 
tained in  dealing  with  these  large  numbers  are  unusually  important 
because  of  the  elimination  of  the  errors  which  are  peculiarly  liable 
to  occur  in  drawing  conclusions  from  the  feeding  of  a  small  or  com- 
paratively small  number  of  fowls.  The  present  investigation  is,  in 
fact,  believed  to  lie  the  first  attempt  to  acquire  comprehensive  and 
reliable  figures  on  the  cost  of  producing  a  pound  of  gain  in  poultry. 
The  author  desires  to  acknowledge  the  assistance  rendered  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  work  by  Messrs.  Harry  M.  Lamon  and  C.  L. 
Opperman,  of  the  Animal  Husbandry  Division. 
Respectfully, 

A.  D.  Melvin, 
Chief  of  Bureau. 
Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  AgrieuJture. 

8 


CONTENTS. 


Pagr» 

Introduction 7 

EdiK-atinfij  the  public  ta.stc 8 

Conditions  in  Franco  and  Enjj;land 8 

Metliods  of  liandlin<j  live  poultry 9 

Best  breeds  for  fattenino; 11 

Comparison  of  breeds 11 

Individuality  in  chickens 12 

The  feeding  season 14 

Length  of  feeding  period 14 

Methods  of  fattening 14 

Milk  fattening 14 

Various  methods  in  vogue 15 

Crate  or  trough  fattening 10 

Rations 17 

Grain  mixtures 17 

Feather  picking  resulting  from  excessive  grain  feeding 18 

Milk  or  buttermilk  essential  in  all  rations 19 

The  use  of  tallow 20 

Mixing  the  feed 20 

Mixing  machines 20 

Consistency  of  the  feed 21 

Number  of  times  to  feed  daily 22 

Color  of  milk-fed  poultry 2;j 

The  feeding  stations  and  tiieir  ('(juipmont 2'S 

Details  of  the  feeding  experimcTits M 

Experiment  A 32 

Experiment  H 37 

Comparison  of  experiments  A  and  H 42 

Experiment  C 42 

Experiment  I) 44 

Comparison  of  experiments  C  and  1) 46 

Average  daily  consumption  of  grain  per  head 46 

Daily  death  records 47 

Fattening  hens 48 

Shrinkage  in  dressing 50 

Cleaning  and  spraying  the  batteries 50 

Poultry  manure 51 

Keeping  records 52 

Conclusions 53 

Appendix 55 

Table  I. — Details  of  feeding  experiment  A 55 

Table  II. — Details  of  feeding  experiment  B 58 

6 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PLATES. 

Page. 
Plate  I.  Fig.  1. — Shipping  crate  for   live   poultry'.     Fig.  2. — Ordinary'  live- 
stock car,  often  used  for  shipping  poultry.     Fig.  3. — Live-poultry 

cars,  generally  used  for  long-distance  hauls 8 

II.  Fig.  1. — Portable  feeding  and  mixing  tank.'    Fig.  2. — Portable  truck 

for  moving  birds.     Fig.  3. — Manure  truck 28 

III.  Fig.  1. — Portable    feeding    batterj' — side    view.     Fig.    2. — Portable 

feeding   battery — end    view.     Fig.  3.  —  Turkey-feeding  battery. 

Fig.  4. — Two  types  of  feed  pails 28 

IV.  Fig.  1. — Feeding  station  No.  2.     Fig.   2. — Feeding   station  Xo.  3. 

Fig.  3. — Feeding  station  Xo.  4.     Fig.  4. — Combination  creamerj- 

and  poultry-feeding  station  (station  Xo.  5) 28 

TEXT   FIGURES. 

Figure  1. — Stationary  feeding  batterj- — end  view 24 

2. — Stationary  feeding  battery — front  view 25 

6 


FATTENING  POULTRY. 


INTBODUCTION. 

An  opportunity  for  obtaining:  extensive  and  accurate  data  of  the 
results  secured  in  fattenini^  poultry  under  commercial  conditions  in 
poultry-packin<j  houses,  which  came  up  during  the  feeding  season  of 
1010,  was  gladly  made  use  of  by  the  author,  with  the  hope  of  throw- 
ing some  light  upon  the  cost  of  fattening  poultry  commercially,  and 
also  to  show  the  relative  gains  which  one  can  expect  to  secure  with 
(he  different  grades  of  poultry.  Through  the  courtesy  of  two  com- 
I)anies  operating  large  poultry-packing  houses  in  the  Middle  West 
it  was  possible  to  compare  the  results  secured  at  different  feeding 
stations  and  to  study  the  efficiency  of  various  methods,  as  well  as 
the  feeding  value  of  different  rations.  The  author  is  especially 
indebted  to  these  poultry  packers,  who  extended  every  possible 
courtesy  to  him  and  gave  him  free  access  to  all  the  details  of  that 
part  of  their  business  in  which  he  was  interested. 

The  methods  described  are  the  result  of  years  of  experience  and 
extensive,  practical  experimentation  by  these  packers.  As  most  of 
the  exi)erimeiilal  work  hitherto  published  on  poultry  problems  deals 
with  small  numbers,  this  careful  study  of  a  large  numl)er  of  birds 
suggested  itself  as  a  good  opportunity  to  show  what  influence  differ- 
ent factors  may  have  in  causing  variation  in  results.  The  results 
of  the  season's  work  fulfilled  the  author's  hopes  to  a  considerable 
degree.  The  study  of  poultry  j)roblems  under  successful  commercial 
conditions  permits  an  investigation  of  the  vital  problems  of  the  work 
without  encountering  the  many  difficulties  which  are  liable  to  be  met 
ill  starting  a  poultry  plant  for  experimental  purposes.  This  method 
also  involves  the  use  of  large  numbers  of  birds,  thus  eliminating  many 
errors  which  may  occur  in  drawing  conclusions  from  small  numbers. 

Whatever  value  this  work  may  have,  aside  from  the  comparative 
experimental  data,  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  describes  in  detail  suc- 
cessfid  methods  of  fattening  chickens  for  market  and  shows  what 
was  the  cost  of  producing  the  gains.  This  work  has  l)een  carried  out 
successfully  on  a  commercial  scale  in  the  Middle  West,  and  as  there 
is  a  tendency  for  the  extension  of  poultry-packing  houses  southward, 
100835°— Run.  140—11 2  7. 


8  FATTENING   POULTRY. 

as  well  as  a  decided  growth  of  the  industry  generally  in  the  South, 
material  on  this  subject  should  be  of  special  value  in  that  section. 
The  normal  growth  of  poultry  interests  in  the  Middle  West  develops 
a  corresponding  growth  in  the  poultry  packing  and  feeding  business. 
Numerous  experiments  have  been  conducted  showing  the  cost  of 
producing  a  pound  of  gain  in  fattening  steers,  hogs,  and  sheep,  but 
very  little  work  has  been  published  showing  the  cost  of  producing 
gain  in  poultry.  The  experimental  work  which  has  been  published 
on  fattening  poultry  has  been  of  value  rather  as  showing  the  com- 
parative value  of  rations  than  the  average  cost  of  producing  poultry 
flesh,  as  in  many  experiments  the  actual  cost  of  producing  the  gains 
has  been  so  high  that  it  would  not  be  commercially  profitable. 

In  order  to  produce  a  superior  quality  of  chicken  flesh  for  high- 
class  eastern  and  foreign  buyers,  managers  of  the  poultry  and  egg 
packing  houses  of  the  Middle  West  for  a  number  of  years  have  fed 
"  spring "  chickens,  producing  the  so-called  "  milk-fed "  chickens. 
If  these  chickens  were  fed  and  fattened  on  the  farm,  it  would  not  be 
necessary  for  the  packer  to  put  them  into  a  feeding  station,  but  the 
bulk  of  the  chickens  produced  on  the  fa^rm  are  too  thin  to  make  first- 
class  dressed  poultry  without  special  fattening. 

If  the  farmer  gave  his  chickens  a  daily  supply  of  grain,  he  could, 
in  many  cases,  fatten  his  chickens  at  a  profit  before  sending  them  to 
market,  even  when  he  sells  to  the  large  poultry  buyer.  He,  of  course, 
could  not  afford  to  put  in  an  expensive  equipment  for  fattening,  but 
he  could  get  his  chickens  in  fair  condition  by  supplying  grain  daily, 
or  by  confining  those  to  be  marketed  for  two  or  three  weeks,  and  feed- 
ing freely  either  on  corn,  or  on  corn  meal,  wheat  flour,  or  oat  flour, 
mixed  with  skim  mill^  or  buttermilk. 

EDUCATING   THE   PUBLIC   TASTE. 

When  a  bird  has  been  properly  fattened  oil  replaces  much  of  the 
water  in  the  flesh,  so  that  when  it  is  cooked  the  flesh  becomes  tender 
and  juicy.  Many  consumers  of  poultry  do  not  know  how  delicious  a 
well-fattened  spring  chicken  is,  but  after  once  securing  a  bird  thus 
fattened  they  will  most  likely  ask  for  the  same  quality  in  the  future. 
As  the  people  of  this  country  become  acquainted  with  the  tarste  of 
chicken  of  good  quality  the  demand  will  grow  and  they  will  be  only 
too  willing  to  pay  for  the  extra  cost  of  well-fattened  birds.  Most  of 
the  dressed  spring* chickens  found  in  the  average  market  to-day  have 
been  insufficiently  fed;  they  can  not  be  classed  as  fat. 

CONDITIONS   IN    FRANCE   AND   ENGLAND. 

The  people  of  France  and  England  have  arppreciated  for  some  time 
the  value  of  properly  fattened  poultry.  Various  methods  of  fatten- 
ing are  in  use  in  both  of  these  countries.      In  France  most  of  the 


BuL.  140,  Bureau  of  Amval  Kdustrv,  U.  S.  Dfpt.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate.  I. 


Fig.  1.— Shipping  Crate  for  Live  Poultry. 


Fig.  2.— Ordinary  Live-Stock  Car.  Often  Used 
FOR  Shipping  Poultry. 


Fig.  3. -Live-Poultry  Cars.  Generally  Used  for  Long-Distance  Hauls. 


METHODS   OF    HANDLING   LIVE    POILTHY.  9 

poultry  is  fattened  on  the  farms  where  it  is  raised  by  the  farmer, 
who  is  usually  very  skillful  in  this  art.  Much  of  this  fattenin*^  is 
done  by  hand,  involving  more  labor  than  the  American  firrmer  can 
afford  to  give  for  this  purpose,  both  on  account  of  the  higher  cost 
of  labor  and  of  the  lower  price  paid  for  the  finished  product  in  this 
country.  Most  of  the  special  fattening  in  England  is  done  at  large 
establishments  where  the  birds  are  confined  in  crates  and  fed  from 
troughs  for  7  to  10  days  and  then  finished  with  cramming  machines, 
jnaking  the  total  fattening  period  about  3  weeks.  The  coops  or 
"  batteries  ''  in  which  the  birds  are  fed  are  often  placed  out  of  doors, 
with  some  protection  from  the  wind  and  rain.  During  cold  weather 
the  batteries  are  put  into  a  building  in  order  to  conserve  some  of  the 
body  heat  of  the  chickens;  otherwise  much  of  the  value  of  the  feed 
would  be  consumed  in  keeping  the  bod}'  warm  rather  thaii  in  produc- 
ing flesh.  Besides  the  extra  care  in  feeding,  special  attention  is 
given  to  selection  and  breeding,  so  as  to  build  up  strains  which 
fatten  readily.  Much  care  is  also  taken  in  dressing  the  poultry,  so 
that  it  is  offered  to  the  public  in  a  very  attractive  condition.  The 
farmers  and  special  poultry  keepers  in  this  country  could  with  good 
advantage  adapt  some  of  these  methods  to  their  own  conditions. 

METHODS  OF  HANDLING  LIVE  POULTRY. 

Poultry  buyers  located  in  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  Middle 
West  receive  chickens  from  the  farmers  throughout  the  greater  part 
of  each  year,  but  the  stock  used  in  commercial  fattening  is  shipped  in 
from  June  until  the  following  December  or  January,  the  feeding  sea- 
son beginning  earliest  in  the  southern  part  of  this  section.  The 
chickens  are  handled  in  many  ways,  often  coming  from  the  farm 
tied  in  lots  of  4  to  0,  with  a  tight  cord  around  their  legs  or  piled  in 
burlap  sacks,  so  that  either  their  logs  are  scraped  raw  or  become  numb 
or  they  are  half  siiffocated  when  they  reach  the  local  buyer  or  country 
merchant,  who  s<'lls  to  the  poultry  buyer.  It  is  difficult  to  understand 
the  cruel  and  careless  methods  of  some  persons  in  handling  their 
poultry,  when  by  using  a  little  care  they  could  send  their  poultry  to 
the  buyer  in  good  condition  and  save  themselves  money.  The  follow- 
ing styles  of  crates  are  used  extensively  by  the  packer  and  poultry 
buyer  and  could  easily  be  adapted  for  use  on  the  farm  at  a  small 
cost  and  result  in  a  great  saving  in  labor  as  well  as  improving  the 
condition  of  the  poultry. 

The  coop  shown  in  Plate  I  (fig.  1)  is  a  very  good  type  of  wire  crate, 
simple  in  construction  and  cheap.  This  crate  is  2  feet  4  inches  wide, 
3  feet  10  inches  long,  and  18  inches  deep,  inside  measurements,  and 
weighs  28  pounds.  The  uprights  are  of  furring  J  by  1^  inches:  the 
floor  is  solid  and  made  of  4-inch  boards  and  the  sides  and  top  covered 
with  strips  of  2-inch  mesh  wire,  1  foot  wide,  with  a  partition  of 


10  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

similar  material  dividing  the  crate  into  two  equal  parts  to  prevent  the 
birds  from  all  bunching  together.  Shipping  crates  of  about  this  size 
made  entirely  of  wood  weigh  from  32  to  36  pounds,  depending  on  the 
width  of  the  wooden  slats  and  the  size  of  the  corner  posts,  but  they 
are  no  better  than  the  wire  crate  and  materially  increase  the  weight, 
and  consequently  the  cost  of  shipments.  Wire  crates  of  the  type 
illustrated  are  also  used  for  shipping  turkeys,  but  are  made  19  inches 
instead  of  13  inches  deep.  Coops  are  also  made  of  galvanized-iron 
strips  and  wire  and  of  all  kinds  of  modifications  between  those  made 
entirely  of  wire  and  those  made  wholly  of  wood. 

Some  styles  of  crates  have  square  wire  doors  on  the  top,  while 
others  have  a  thin  slat  which  slides  under  three  narrow  strips  of  tin 
or  iron  and  is  fastened  in  the  center  with  one  nail.  The  coop  illus- 
trated is  opened  by  moving  a  slat,  fastened  by  a  spring,  which  forces 
a  small  cut  in  the  slat  against  a  wire  in  the  center.  A  coop  thus  shut 
can  be  opened  easily  and  quickly,  but  occasionally  gets  out  of  order. 
There  is  a  tendency  to  break  the  slats  of  coops  which  are  nailed  when 
opening  them  at  the  packing  houses,  especially  if  the  work  is  done 
in  a  hurry. 

The  styles  of  coops  above  described  are  used  in  shipping  either  by 
express  or  by  freight.  The  live  poultry  is  often  held  for  a  day  by 
the  local  poultry  buyer  and  then  shipped,  either  by  express  or 
freight,  to  the  poultry  and  egg  packer.  If  shipped  by  freight,  an 
open  car  ordinarily  used  for  shipping  live  stock  locally  is  devoted  en- 
tirely to  eggs  and  poultry,  which  are  picked  up  at  each  station  and 
piled  into  the  car,  poultry  generally  at  one  end  and  eggs  at  the  other. 
(See  Plate  I,  fig.  2.)  This  car  on  arrival  at  the  packing  house  is  un- 
loaded immediately  if  it  comes  in  during  regular  working  hours ;  if 
not,  it  is  left  till  morning,  although  the  eggs  are  often  unloaded  by 
the  night  force. 

The  birds  are  fed  by  the  small  poultry  buyers  if  held  for  any  length 
of  time,  and  grain  is  scattered  in  the  coops  before  they  are  shipped  to 
prevent  a  heavy  shrinkage  in  weight.  The  chickens  are  usually  hun- 
gry by  the  time  they  are  distributed  in  the  feeding  station  and  are 
not  held  long  without  feed.  Chickens  shipped  in  by  express  gen- 
erally have  less  feed  in  their  crops  than  those  shipped  by  freight. 

Poultry  is  also  shipped  extensively  in  cars  built  for  live  poultry 
(Plate  I,  fig.  3),  especially  when  their  destination  is  far  enough  away 
so  that  they  will  be  over  a  day  on  the  road.  These  cars,  which  are 
used  extensively  in  interstate  shipments,  are  of  the  following  dimen- 
sions :  36  feet  long,  9  feet  5  inches  wide,  inside  measurements,  with  a 
"  stateroom  "  8  feet  by  9  feet  6  inches  in  the  center  of  each  car  and 
an  aisle  2  feet  3  inches  wide  extending  the  entire  length  of  the  car. 
Each  car  has  8  tiers,  which  gives  about  1,600  square  feet  of  coop  floor 
capacity,  and  each  tier  accommodates  16  coops.     Allowing  36  fowls 


BEST  BREEDS  FOR  FATTENING.  1  1 

to  each  coop,  cars  of  these  dimensions  will  accommodate  about  4,C>00 
head,  or  about  18.000  pounds,  of  poultry,  depending  on  the  average 
size  of  the  birds.  About  2,000  to  2,400  geese  or  1,200  to  1,500  turkeys 
make  a  carload.  A  water  tank  of  f^27  gallons  capacity  and  a  grain 
crib  8  feet  square  and  20  inches  deep  are  attached  to  each  car.  All 
compartments  have  feed  and  water  troughs  accessible  from  the  aisle, 
in  which  rations  are  fed  consisting  of  cf)rn  meal,  corn  chop,  and  a 
small  per  cent  of  shorts  in  different  proportions  mixed  with  butter- 
milk. Dead  birds  can  be  easily  seen  and  readily  removed  from  all 
coops.  These  cars  are  well  ventilated  and  carry  the  birds  to  their  des- 
tination in  good  condition,  the  shrinkage  rarely  exceeding  5  per  cent. 

BEST  BREEDS  FOR  FATTENING. 

All  varieties  and  types  of  chickens  are  fattened  in  this  country, 
no  special  attention  being  devoted  to  developing  strains  or  special 
types  peculiarly  adapted  to  produce  a  high  quality  of  flesh  or  to  give 
especially  good  results  in  fattening.  Several  breeds  give  good  results 
in  fattening,  and  these  are  preferred  by  men  who  make  a  specialty  of 
feeding  poultry  in  the  following  order:  Plymouth  Rocks,  Wyan- 
dottes,  Rhode  Island  Reds,  or  taken  as  a  whole,  birds  of  the  general- 
purpose  breeds.  Tlie  feeders  discourage  the  use  of  birds  of  tlie 
Mediterranean  class,  such  as  the  Brown  and  AMiite  Leghorns  and  the 
Minorcas,  because  these  birds  average  poorer  results  throughout  the 
season  in  the  fee<ling  tests  and  they  mature  light,  while  the  trade 
demands  a  heavy  fowl.  In  order  to  make  the  farmer  raise  chickens 
of  the  first  rather  than  of  the  second  class  mentioned,  the  packer,  and 
consequently  the  smaller  poultry  buyer,  often  pays  from  1  to  8  cents 
a  pound  less  for  light-weight  hens. 

^lore  attention  should  be  paid  to  buying  poultry  on  a  quality  basis, 
thus  showing  the  producer  the  gain  which  he  may  realize  by  keeping 
good  poultry  of  the  general-purpose  breeds  and  giving  the  birds 
proper  attention  and  feed  before  shipping  to  market.  In  some  sec- 
tions the  packers  have  exchanged  purebred  cockerels  of  the  general- 
purpose  breeds  for  the  mongrel  and  light-weight  cwks  kept  by  the 
farmers,  thus  rapidly  improving  the  quality  of  stock  in  the  localities 
where  they  obtain  tlieir  supplies.  The  Orpingtons,  various  game 
crosses,  and  the  Dorking  make  good  poultry  for  fattening,  but  are 
not  found  in  any  appreciable  numbers  in  the  Middle  West,  although 
the  Orpingtons  have  increased  considerably  in  the  last  few  years. 

COMPARISON    OF    BREEDS. 

Table  1  gives  the  gains  secured  in  selected  "batteries"'  in  which 
the  birds  were  sorted  in  feeding  experiment  A  (set^  p.  32).  It 
may  here  be  stated  that  the  coops  in  which  the  birds  are  kept  during 


12 


FATTENING  POULTRY. 


the  feeding  period  are  called  batteries.  There  are  two  styles  of  bat- 
teries— stationary  and  portable — most  feeding  houses  containing  the 
stationary  batteries.  The  per  cent  of  gains  shows  that  in  general 
leghorns  make  much  poorer  gains  than  Plymouth  Rocks,  but  the 
results  are  not  entirely  consistent.  The  Leghorns  make  poor  gains 
in  the  batteries  after  they  are  24  or  3  months  old,  as  they  are  very 
restless,  but  they  make  good  gains  up  to  this  age.  Leghorns  mixed 
with  other  birds  in  the  compartments  of  the  batteries  tend  to  keep 
all  of  the  birds  excited.  The  chickens  in  Table  1  were  all  fed  be- 
tween September  22  and  Xovember  14. 

Table  1. — Results  of  fattening  various  breeds  of  chickens. 


Number 
of  birds. 

Breeding. 

Days 
fed. 

Average 

Average 

Died. 

Average 
gain. 

Gain. 

Rocks. 

Leghorns. 

Mixed. 

in.            out. 

68 
192 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 

Per  cent. 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
92 
87 
33 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

14 
14 
14 
9 
9 
7 
10 

s 

9 
9 
9 
6 

8 

Pounds. 

3.68 
4.03 
2.85 
4.01 
2.38 
3.26 
2.83 
3.18 
2.98 
2.88 
2.29 
2.16 
3.60 

Pounds. 
4.25 
4.82 
3.70 
4.61 
3.00 
3.78 
3.56 
3.85 
3.36 
3.19 
2.87 
2.55 
3.93 



i" 

1 

Pounds. 
0.57 
.79 
.85 
.60 
.62 
.52 
.73 
.67 
.38 
.31 

Per  cent. 
15.5 
19.6 
29.8 
15.0 
26.1 
15.9 
25.8 
21.1 
12.8 
10.8 
25.3 
18  1 

8 

13 

67 

100 
80 
65 
60 

20 
35 
16 

:m 

24 

.33 

9.2 

INDIVIDUALITY    IX    CHICKENS. 

Table  2  gives  in  detail  the  gains  of  the  batteries  making  up  two 
of  the  lots  in  feeding  experiment  A  (p.  32).  The  first  11  bat- 
teries went  on  feed  September  18  and  the  remaining  8  September 
28.  Records  were  kept  of  the  gains  of  each  battery.  A  lot  includes 
all  batteries  put  on  feed  on  the  same  day  and  fed  the  same  lengtli 
of  time.  The  batteries  in  the  table  are  arranged  in  the  relative  order 
of  the  increasing  average  weights  of  the  birds,  but  the  percentage 
of  gain  does  not  vary  directly  with  the  average  weight.  The  "  Rocks  " 
in  this  table  were  birds  of  the  general-purpose  classes,  Barred  Ply- 
mouth Rocks  predominating.  If  the  batteries  were  arranged  in 
order  according  to  the  proportion  of  Leghorns  the  per  cent  of  gains 
would  still  show  no  consistent  relative  order.  These  gains  shoAV  a 
more  consistent  ratio  between  the  average  weight  of  the  birds  and 
the  per  cent  of  gain,  which  in  general  varies  inversely.  If  the 
average  weight  is  lowered  by  having  a  large  propoi-tion  of  Leghorns 
in  the  battery,  this  inverse  ratio  is  not  .so  apparent.  This  table 
shows  the  great  variation  in  lots  housed  and  fed  alike,  and  emphasizes 
the  great  difference  in  the  ability  of  the  individual  bird  to  put  on 
flesh.  This  difference  is  greater  because  of  the  mixed  stock  in  each 
battery.     All  the  other  lots  in  feeding  table  experiment  A  could  be 


INDIVIDUALITY   IN   CHICKENS. 


13 


subdivided,  and  would  show  a  similar  variation  in  gains,  but  these 
two  lots  were  selected  as  showing  about  the  average  variation  within 
a  lot.  This  emphasizes  the  error  which  is  likely  to  occur  in  ex- 
perimental work  dealing  with  small  lots,  unless  the  chickens  are  of 
the  same  strain  and  have  l)een  handled  alike  from  birth. 

Table  2. — Individuality  in  chickens. 


Number 
of  birds. 

Leghorns. 

Breeding. 
Rocks. 

Mixed. 

Days 

fe<I. 

Average 

weight 

in. 

Average 

weiglit 

out. 

i 

Died.      Average 
gain. 

Average 
gain. 

1 

80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 
80 

Per  cent. 
10 
55 
21 
35 
34 
10 
15 

9 
12 
12 

5 

Per  cent. 
90 
45 
79 
05 
06 
84 
85 
91 
88 
88 
95 
to 
75 
13 
70 
58 
41 
58 
25 

Per  cent. 

8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
8 
6 
6 
0 
6 
6 
6 
6 
6 

Pounds. 
1.89 
1.98 
2.10 
2.13 
2.25 
2.31 
2.44 
2.46 
2.53 
2.70 
2.84 
1.00 
2.28 
2.35 
2.49 
2.50 
2.59 
2.59 
2.78 

Pounds. 
2.24 
2.41 
2.42 
2.33 
2.09 
2.83 
2.98 
3.05 
2.95 
3.09 
3.03 
2.20 
2.85 
2.83 
2.90 
2.81 
2.98 
3.00 
3.32 

i' 

1 

i" 

2" 

i" 

1 
1 
1 

Pounds. 
0..'« 
.4.3 
.32 
.20 
.44 
.52 
.54 
.59 
.42 
.39 
.19 
.(» 
.57 
.48 
.41 
.31 
.39 
.41 
.54 

1 
Per  cent. 
18.5 
21.7 
16.2 

9.4 
19.6 
22.5 
22.1 
24.0 
10.6    1 
14.4 

6.7 
37.5 
25.0 
20.4 
16.5 
12.4 
15.1 
15.8 
19.4 

35 
17 
58 
25 
32 
43 
42 
70 

8 
29 

5 
10 
16 

5 

The  '' feeder"  who  has  charge  of  the  fattening  station  often  finds 
some  in  each  lot  of  chickens  that  it  would  not  pay  to  fatten.  In  such 
cases  the  Leghorns  (.especialh'  the  Single  Comb  Brown),  Buff  Cochins, 
Langshans,  and  all  chickens  with  black  legs  are  discarded.  Varieties 
containing  much  Butf  Cochin  blood  are  claimed  by  some  feeders  to 
be  very  poor  varieties  to  fatten.  In  sorting  the  birds  the  feeder  some- 
times throws  out  many  birds  in  good  market  condition  which  it  does 
not  pay  to  feed  under  his  conditions,  as  in  many  in.stances  they  would 
lose  rather  than  gain  in  weight  during  the  feeding  period.  If  one  can 
select  the  birds  still  more  carefully  for  fattening  he  should  pick  out 
birds  with  short,  stout,  well-curved  beaks,  broad  heads,  bright,  clear 
eyes,  deep,  broad  breasts,  and  well-spread  legs.  Individual  birds  of 
the  same  breed  vary  greatly  in  their  ability  to  put  on  flesh,  but  a 
strain  can  be  selected  and  bred  for  this  purpose.  The  superiority  of 
certain  strains  of  birds  in  England  and  France,  in  their  ability  to 
fatten  readily,  is  quite  marked.  Oos--es  are  frequently  u.scd  in  Eng- 
land for  i)ro<lucing  good  fattening  stock,  but  the  majority  of  farmers 
and  poultrymen  in  this  country  do  not  breed  carefully  and  systemat- 
ically enough  to  get  good  results  from  crossing,  so  that  the  offspring 
show  lack  of  uniformity  in  type  and  size,  which  tends  to  lower  the 
price  paid  for  the  birds.  It  is  probable  that  feeilers  could  with  profit 
select  birds  along  some  of  the  lines  mentioned  in  this  paragraph,  but 
this  matter  depends  largely  on  each  man's  condition. 


14  FATTENOTG   POULTKY. 

THE  FEEDING   SEASON. 

The  feeding  season  varies  in  different  sections,  depending  on  the 
climatic  and  seasonal  conditions,  and  on  the  trade  supplied  with  the 
dressed  poultry.  The  season  begins  earlier  in  the  South,  generally  in 
June,  and  lasts  longer  in  the  North,  up  to  January  or  February,  de- 
pending on  the  supply  of  live  chickens.  Many  find  it  quite  profitable 
to  feed  chickens  as  broilers  during  the  early  summer  months,  while 
other  feeders  prefer  to  feed  the  larger  sizes,  called  "  springs  "  and 
"  roasters." 

LENGTH  or  FEEDING  PERIOD. 

The  common  practice  in  poultry  packing  houses  is  to  feed  each  lot 
17  days  or  less.  The  market  or  trade  supplied  and  the  results  secured 
by  the  feeder  determine  the  length  of  the  feeding  period.  Most  milk- 
fed  chickens  are  fed  for  14  days,  but  results  secured  in  feeding  indi- 
cate that  a  more  profitable  gain  can  be  secured  in  a  shorter  feeding 
period,  provided  the  same  price  per  pound  can  be  secured  for  the 
finished  product.  In  England  and  Canada  birds  are  fattened  for  at 
least  3  weeks,  and  if  one  uses  a  cramming  machine  it  probably  pays  to 
feed  for  that  length  of  time.  If  the  birds  are  small  or  thin,  they  may 
be  fed  longer  than  heavier  birds  or  those  which  are  fairly  well  fleshed 
when  they  reach  the  feeding  station.  As  the  feeding  season  advances 
the  tendency  among  feeders  is  to  shorten  the  length  of  the  feeding 
period,  reducing  it  as  low  as  T  days  in  many  cases.  Many  birds  are 
merely  "  finished  "  by  feeding  for  5  to  6  days,  and  these  are  not  gen- 
erally classed  as  milk-fed  poultry. 

METHODS    OF   FATTENING. 

MELK  FATTENING. 

Practically  all  of  the  special  feeding  in  this  country  involves  the 
use  of  milk,  thus  producing  "  milk- fed  "  chickens.  These  are  also 
exported  to  some  extent.  Milk,  while  the  least  expensive,  seems  to 
be  the  most  essential  constituent  of  the  ration,  and  when  a  feeder 
can  not  get  milk  in  some  form  he  generally  does  not  attempt  to  fat- 
ten poultry  commercially.  The  profit  depends  on  various  factors, 
many  of  which  are  local,  and  must  be  worked  out  by  each  individual. 
Among  these  factors  are  the  supply  and  cost  of  the  chickens,  which 
depends  largely  on  the  competition  of  other  buyers;  the  shipping 
facilities;  the  cost  of  the  essential  feeds;  the  availability  and  cost 
of  efficient  labor;  the  market,  and  the  price  which  the  packer  can 
secure  for  his  finished  product.  Often  the  packer  has  to  feed  his 
poultry  to  suit  the  demands  of  his  market,  but  generally  if  a  man 
has  a  high-class  product  he  can  make  his  own  market,  catering  some- 
what to  popular  fancies. 


METHODS   OB'   FATTENING.  15 

Besides  these  local  factors  there  are  certain  essentials  to  success  in 
a  feedinf?  station  where  poultry  are  fattened.  P'irst  in  importance 
is  the  manager  of  the  station,  or  feeder,  who  must  thoroughly  under- 
stand all  the  details  of  the  work  and  have  a  well-trained,  observant 
eye,  quick  to  note  the  condition  and  appetite  of  the  stock.  Success 
or  failure  depends  primarily  on  this  man,  who  must  have  the  knack 
of  caring  for  birds.  The  feeding  station  must  be  arranged  to  econo- 
mize labor  and  to  jH'ovide  the  best  jwssible  v^entilation.  Conditions 
must  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  keep  the  birds  quiet  and  contented, 
a-nd  at  the  same  time  cause  them  to  consume  a  large  amount  of  feed, 
in  order  to  make  profitable  gains. 

VARIOUS    METHODS   IX    VCKJl'K. 

Besides  crate  fattening  from  troughs  there  are  several  other  meth- 
ods in  vogue,  particularly  in  Europe.  Among  these  are  fattening 
by  funnel,  by  machine,  and  by  hand.  The  last  is  connuon  in  P>ance, 
but  can  only  be  done  economically  where  labor  is  cheap.  The  funnel 
method  is  used  to  some  extent  in  England  and  Erance,  with  the  fun- 
nel tube  running  directly  to  the  crop,  which  is  filled  by  pf)uring  the 
mixture  into  the  funnel.  The  other  method,  cramming  by  machine, 
is  used  extensively  in  P^ngland,  generally  to  supplement  trough  feed- 
ing. The  English  feeder  does  not  consider  that  the  bird  has  been 
l)roperly  fattened  until  it  has  been  finished  with  a  cramming  ma- 
chine. Most  of  the  large  feeders  have  used  cramming  machines  in 
the  United  States,  but  have  not  found  them  adapted  to  their  condi- 
tions. There  are  two  factors  which  may  help  to  account  for  this 
attitude:  Eii"st,  very  few  feeders  in  this  country  have  been  ai>le  to 
use  a  crannning  machine  successfully  and  keep  the  birds  contented; 
and,  second,  the  trade  has  not  been  educated  to  the  increased  value 
of  a  machine-fed  bird.  However,  the  method  is  occasionally  found 
in  use  where  there  is  a  special  market  for  birds  which  have  been 
crammed. 

Some  feeders  in  this  country  have  obtained  good  results  with  the 
machine  in  one  section,  and  made  an  absolute  failure  of  the  same 
method  under  different  conditions.  In  England  the  art  of  fattening 
by  machine  is  often  handed  down  from  father  to  son,  thus  producing 
first-class  feeders.  The  cramming  machine  is  used  to  some  extent 
in  this  country  for  fattening  hens  which  do  not  give  good  results  on 
trough  feeding. 

In  cramming,  the  birds  are  fed  from  7  to  14  days  from  the  troughs, 
and  are  then  crammed  twice  daily  for  from  7  to  10  days,  until  they 
begin  to  go  off"  feed,  when  they  are  marketed.  The  operator  gauges 
the  proper  amount  of  feed  to  force  into  the  birds  by  holding  his  hand 
on  the  bird's  crop.  If  the  crop  is  not  almost  or  entirely  empty  at 
the  next  feeding  time  the  bird  is  not  given  any  additional  feed. 
l(^K^-°— Hull.  140—11 3 


16  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

Another  method  which  is  used  to  a  considerable  extent  on  a  small 
scale  in  this  country  is  pen  fattening.  This  method  is  adapted  for 
use  on  the  farm,  where  the  farmer  does  not  care  to  go  to  the  trouble 
of  crate  fattening,  or  where  the  price  received  for  well-fed  birds 
does  not  warrant  the  extra  labor  and  feed  cost  of  the  latter  method. 
Pen  fattening  has  in  some  cases  given  very  good  results,  but  it  is  not 
as  reliable  as  crate  fattening,  although  the  labor  cost  is  less.  It  is 
used  generally  in  fattening  ducks.  The  quality  of  flesh  secured  by 
crate  fattening  is  better  than  that  obtained  by  pen  fattening. 

CRATE  OR  TROUGH  FEEDING. 

Crate  fattening  from  troughs  is  the  method  of  feeding  employed 
in  this  country  by  most  of  the  large  fattening  establishments.  From 
6  to  10  chickens  are  placed  in  the  crate  or  battery,  generally  with  a 
small  amount  of  feed  in  their  crops,  and  given  a  light  feed  at  the 
next  regular  feeding  period.  Two  methods  are  used  in  transferring 
the  chickens  from  the  coops  to  the  feeding  battery.  The  coops  of 
chickens  are  weighed  on  scales  located  at  some  convenient  place  on 
the  dock  or  in  the  packing-house  building,  and  then  put  either  into 
a  portable  transfer  crate  or  directly  into  the  portable  feeding  battery. 
If  the  birds  are  put  directly  into  the  portable  battery,  it  saves  the 
labor  of  rehandling  and  they  go  on  feed  in  better  condition  than  if 
rehandled.  Many  birds  are  graded  into  a  lower  class  on  account  of 
broken  wings,  sometimes  caused  by  handling  after  the  birds  have  been 
on  feed  for  some  time;  thus  the  use  of  the  portable  feeding  battery 
tends  to  lessen  the  loss  caused  by  rehandling.  To  facilitate  the 
weighing  of  coops  two  strips  of  wood  are  nailed  onto  the  scale  plat- 
form, thus  elevating  the  coops  so  that  they  do  not  touch  the  floor 
on  any  side,  and  making  it  easier  to  handle  them.  Some  people 
advise  dusting  the  birds  before  putting  them  into  the  batteries,  but 
by  keeping  the  batteries  and  coops  clean  and  whitewashing  fre- 
quently, the  large  feeders  find  that  it  is  not  necessary  in  the  case  of 
short  feeding  periods  to  dust  the  birds  with  lice  powder. 

From  6  to  10  birds  are  placed  in  each  division  of  the  battery, 
depending  on  the  size  of  the  birds  and  the  ideas  of  the  feeder.  Ten 
birds  seem  rather  a  large  number  to  place  together,  but  very  good 
results  have  been  secured  with  this  number  in  the  portable  feeding 
battery  hereinafter  described,  although  it  would  seem  advisable  to 
reduce  the  number  to  8  when  the  birds  weigh  from  3|  to  4  pounds. 
Two  or  three  chickens  do  better  in  a  division  together  than  when  only 
1  bird  is  placed  in  each  compartment,  and  the  cost  of  equipment  and 
labor  per  bird  varies  inversely  with  the  number  of  birds  in  each 
division. 


RATIONS  FOR   FATTENING.  17 

RATIONS. 

A  perusal  of  the  literature  on  the  subject  of  chicken  feeding  indi- 
cates that  there  is  a  large  variety  of  grain  feeds,  mixed  in  varying  pro- 
portions, which  are  successfully  used  in  fattening.  But  many  of  the 
large  poultry  feeders  after  trying  various  feeds  and  rations  have 
found  that  a  very  simple  ration,  made  up  of  only  two  or  three  grains, 
is  l)est  suited  to  economical  gains  under  their  conditions.  Consider- 
ing the  large  number  of  birds  which  they  feed  each  year  and  the 
extent  of  their  experimentation  in  feeding,  it  would  appear  that 
these  simple  rations  must  be  of  special  merit  for  their  conditions. 
Most  rations  are  recommended  for  a  feeding  period  of  three  weeks, 
although  the  length  of  the  feeding  period  may  influence  the  selection 
of  the  best  ration.  Birds  fed  only  for  a  short  time  may  be  forced 
on  highly  concentrated  feeds,  whereas  birds  fed  longer  may  need  a 
ration  containing  a  greater  variety  and  less  concentrated.  ^\Tiile 
this  may  be  tnie,  many  of  the  poultry  packers  feed  the  same  ration 
to  their  chickens  regardless  of  the  length  of  the  feeding  period. 
The  fact  that  it  is  easier  to  feed  only  one  mixture  may  help  to  ex- 
plain this  condition,  or  it  may  be  possible  that  tlie  ration  is  not  too 
heavy  or  concentrated  even  for  the  longer  feeding  periods. 

GRAIN    MIXTURES. 

In  selecting  a  ration  the  feeder  must  be  influenced  to  some  extent 
by  the  market  price  and  supply  of  grains.  Certain  grains  which 
are  used  for  fattening  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  local  sections,  and 
are  not  widely  distributed  at  reasonable  prices  on  the  general  mar- 
kets. Among  such  grains  are  buckwheat,  pea  meal,  graham  flour, 
shredded-wheat  waste,  small  potatoes,  and  in  some  places  barley  meal. 

In  the  feeding  records  given  in  this  bulletin  the  following  rations 
were  used:  No.  1,  60  per  cent  corn  meal  and  40  per  cent  low-grade 
wheat  flour;  No.  2,  58  per  cent  com  meal,  .36  per  cent  oat  flour,  and 
6  per  cent  tallow,  by  weight.  Kation  No.  2  was  varied  during  the 
season  to  suit  the  fancy  of  the  feeder  or  the  changes  in  the  weather. 
This  variation  of  the  ration  was  not  regular,  but,  generally  speaking, 
as  the  season  advanced  and  the  weather  became  cooler  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  corn  meal  was  fed,  although  the  increase  was  not  large 
if  figured  on  the  average  per  cent  of  corn  meal  in  the  ration  each 
month.  These  two  rations  were  selected  by  different  individuals 
working  under  slightly  different  conditions.  In  general  they  are 
quite  similar,  except  that  tallow  is  present  in  one  ration  and  not  in 
the  other.  Many  feeders  after  experimenting  with  a  large  number  of 
different  feeds  have  returned  to  these  simple  rations. 

There  are  many  other  rations  wliich  have  been  used  with  good 
results,  and  perhaps  are  specially  suited  to  certain  localities  on  account 


18  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

of  the  relative  price  of  grains.  The  following  rations  are  men- 
tioned as  belonging  to  this  class:  No.  3,  2  parts  of  oat  flour,  1  part 
of  barley  meal,  and  1  part  of  corn  meal ;  No.  4,  2  parts  of  oat  flour, 

1  part  of  barley  meal,  and  1  part  of  boiled  potatoes;  No.  5,  1  part 
of  corn  meal,  1  part  of  oat  flour,  and  1  part  of  wheat  flour;  No.  G, 

2  parts  of  corn  meal,  2  parts  of  buckwheat  flour,  and  1  part  of  ground 
oats ;  and  No.  7, 1  part  of  oat  meal,  1  part  of  graham  flour,  and  1  part 
of  corn  meal,  by  weight. 

In  France  and  England  buckwheat  flour,  oat  flour,  and  barley  meal 
are  used  extensively  in  fattening.  Shredded  wheat  w^aste  has  been 
used  to  replace  oat  or  wdieat  flour,  with  good  results,  in  places  where 
it  could  be  bought  at  a  low  price. 

These  rations  include  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  grains  which  are  used 
extensively  in  this  country,  but  there  are  many  other  combinations 
which  have  been,  and  are  still,  used  for  fattening. 

All  feeders  are  very  particular  that  the  grains  used  are  of  the 
best  quality,  and  they  find  it  especially  necessary  to  watch  the  oat 
flour,  often  returning  a  shipment  as  unfit  for  their  use.  The  oat 
flour,  with  the  hulls  removed,  must  be  finely  ground  and  should  give 
a  sweet  taste  when  chewed.  In  some  cases  feeders  have  been  forced 
to  substitute  other  kinds  of  flour  for  the  oat  flour,  as  they  could  not 
always  secure  good  quality  oat  flour,  which  is  apt  to  contain  other 
grains. 

Grit  is  generally  provided  if  the  birds  are  kept  on  feed  for  two 
weeks  or  longer,  giving  4  pounds  of  grit  to  100  birds  if  fed  tAvice  a 
week.  Where  the  birds  are  only  fed  a  short  time,  7  to  10  days,  they 
do  not  need  grit  if  they  were  raised  in  a  section  sufficiently  supplied. 

Clover  or  alfalfa  meal,  meat  meal,  blood  meal,  charcoal,  and  salt 
are  often  added  to  the  rations,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  feeder. 
These  constituents  do  not  i\ppear  to  be  absolutely  essential,  but  may 
be  worth  while  for  special  conditions. 

FEATHER   PICKING  RESULTING  FROM   EXCESSIVE   GRAIN   FEEDING. 

Birds  often  become  very  restless  on  forced  feeding  of  a  highly  con- 
centrated ration,  and  commence  feather  eating  and  picking  each 
other,  often  continuing  until  they  have  eaten  a  considerable  part  of 
the  flesh  of  a  live  chicken.  Probably  an  overheated  condition  of  the 
blood,  caused  by  consuming  a  large  proportion  of  highly  heating 
feed,  such  as  corn  meal,  during  hot  weather  will  lead  to  habits  of  this 
kind.  In  such  cases  it  may  be  advisable  to  reduce  the  proportion  of 
corn  meal  and  lighten  the  ration  by  adding  some  gi-een  feed,  such  as 
clover  or  alfalfa  meal,  and  possibly  a  small  amount  of  meat  or  blood 
meal.  Salt,  sulphur,  or  powdered  borax,  lightly  sprinkled  into  the 
mash,  have  been  suggested  as  remedies  for  this  overheated  condition 


USE   OF   MILK   IN   RATIONS.  19 

of  the  blood.  Salt  is  quite  frequently  used,  but  sulphur  and  borax,  if 
fed  in  any  appreciable  quantity,  appear  to  lessen  sli«j:litly  the  ai)pe- 
tite  of  the  birds,  although  the  diiference  is  not  marked.  It  is  rather 
difficult  to  prove  what  effect  these  substances  have  in  lessening  the 
chance  of  the  birds  developing  these  bad  habits;  in  any  event  these 
remedies  are  probably  not  used  extensively. 

MILK    OK    BUTI'ERMILK    ESSENTIAL    IN    ALL    RATIONS. 

Milk  is  used  entirely  in  mixing  the  various  rations  used  in  fatten- 
ing, and  is  considered  an  essential  ingredient,  both  in  this  country 
and  in  P^urope.  While  good  results  may  be  secured  without  it,  milk 
has  such  a  beneficial  effect  on  the  birds  tiiat  it  is  hard  to  get  good  re- 
sults witliout  using  it.  In  some  instances  poultry  shippei's  stoj^ped 
feeding  chickens  when  their  supply  of  milk  gave  out.  Buttermilk  and 
skim  milk  are  generally  used, no  particular  notice  being  taken  as  to 
whether  the  milk  is  sweet  or  sour,  but  in  almost  all  cases  it  was  sour 
before  it  was  fed  to  the  birds.  One  large  creamery  in  Kansas  has  ex- 
perimented in  condensing  buttermilk,  and  they  now  manufacture  a 
product  which  is  put  up  in  barrels,  stored,  and  sold  for  feeding 
chickens.  In  one  case  they  shijoped  carload  lots  to  a  feeding  station 
located  several  hundred  miles  awa}'.  As  many  creameries  have  a 
large  surplus  of  buttermilk  during  the  spring  months,  this  appeal's 
to  be  quite  a  profitable  way  of  disposing  of  it,  except  that  it  involves 
expensive  machinery,  and  that  the  condensed  milk,  being  bulky,  re- 
quires a  large  amount  of  storage  space.  This  creamery  was  unable 
to  satisfy  half  of  the  demand  for  condensed  milk  during  the  fall  and 
early  winter  months.  The  milk  is  reduced  to  one-fourth  of  its  origi- 
nal volume  largely  by  evaporation,  but  part  of  the  whey  is  drained 
off  during  this  prf)cess.  When  condensed  the  milk  is  run  into  bar- 
rels without  adding  any  preservative,  and  Avill  keep  indefiniteh'. 
Sample  barrels  have  been  kept  for  two  or  three  years,  and  when 
opened  the  contents  have  been  in  good  condition.  Under  ordinary 
trade  conditions  the  milk  would  never  be  kept  longer  than  one  year. 
Fresh  buttermilk,  condensed  buttermilk,  and  skim  milk  are  pre- 
ferred in  this  relative  order.  Whey  is  sometimes  fed  in  addition  to 
the  condensed  buttermilk,  but  it  is  too  bulky  and  of  too  small  feeding 
value  to  pay  to  move  any  considerable  di>tance. 

A^arious  fee<lers  have  endeavored  to  find  a  substitute  for  milk,  with 
little  apparent  success.  Milk  seems  to  have  a  very  imi)ortant  in- 
fluence on  the  digestive  processes,  keeping  the  bird  in  good  condition 
under  forced  feeding.  Beef  broth  has  been  us^mI  to  some  extent,  with 
fair  results,  but  it  is  not  as  good  as  milk.  If  the  feed  is  mixed  with 
water,  from  ">  to  1.5  per  cent  of  the  ration  shc^dd  be  meat  in  some 
form,  and  vegetables  or  green  feed  should  be  added.     Cireen  feed  is 


20  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

fed  to  some  extent  in  very  hot  weather,  but  most  feeders  do  not  think 
that  the  results  warrant  its  use.  Finely  ground  beef  scrap  and  meat 
meal  are  good  forms  of  meat  feed. 

THE  USE  or  TALLOW. 

Beef  tallow  is  used  by  many  feeders,  but  has  been  discarded  by 
others,  who  claim  that  it  produces  a  poorer  quality  of  flesh.  "When 
only  a  very  small  amount  is  fed  the  difference  in  the  flesh  is  not 
noticeable;  but,  considering  the  cost  of  the  tallow  and  the  possible 
poorer  quality  of  flesh  produced,  it  hardly  seems  to  be  an  economical 
feed,  although  this  depends  largely  on  individual  conditions,  espe- 
cially on  the  market  to  which  the  packer  sells.  In  part  of  the  feeding 
experiments  in  this  bulletin  about  6  per  cent  of  the  ration,  excluding 
milk,  consisted  of  tallow,  and  this  had  no  apparent  effect  on  the 
flesh.  Tallow  is  often  recommended  to  be  fed  during  the  last  few  days 
of  the  feeding  period,  but  under  ordinary  commercial  conditions 
it  is  hardly  practicable  to  mix  the  feed  separately  and  use  it  according 
to  the  number  of  days  which  the  birds  have  been  in  the  feeder.  The 
tallow  may  be  shaved  directly  into  the  feeding  trough,  but  this 
method  does  not  seem  as  practicable  as  to  mix  the  melted  tallow  into 
the  feed. 

MIXING  THE   FEED. 

The  feed  may  be  mixed  with  a  rake  or  in  a  machine ;  some  feeders 
preferring  to  mix  with  the  rake  regardless  of  the  amount  which  has 
to  be  mixed.  The  feed  can  be  mixed  fairly  quickly  with  a  rake  by  a 
skillful  feeder,  but  most  feeders  prefer  to  let  a  machine  do  the  mixing 
where  a  large  number  of  birds  are  fed.  Some  kind  of  power  is  neces- 
sary to  run  the  mixer.  When  mixed  by  an  iron  rake  the  milk  is  run 
or  poured  into  a  large  mixing  tank  and  the  grain  added  gradually, 
constantly  stirring  the  mixture  with  the  rake  to  prevent  the  formation 
of  lumps,  and  to  mix  the  different  grains  thoroughly.  The  feeder  adds 
the  different  grains  alternately,  generally  dumping  in  100  pounds 
at  a  time,  and  mixing  is  continued  until  the  mixture  is  of  an  even 
consistency.  It  is  very  necessary  to  have  the  feed  free  from  lumps. 
Tallow  may  be  kept  in  an  open  kettle  heated  by  steam  pipes,  and 
gradually  added  to  the  feed  in  a  melted  state,  after  the  milk  and  grain 
have  been  mixed.  The  pail  in  which  the  tallow  is  handled  should  be 
heated  before  it  is  used  for  the  melted  tallow,  to  i^revent  the  liquid 
from  congealing  on  the  sides  of  the  pail.  The  tallow  is  stirred 
thoroughly  into  the  mixed  feed. 

MIXING    MACHINES. 

There  are  several  styles  of  machines  used  for  mixing  the  feed,  each 
manager  having  his  own  ideas  of  the  best  kind  of  mixer.  A  hori- 
zontal mixer  made  of  2  tanks  each  6  feet  6  inches  long,  2  feet  6  inches 


METHODS  OF   MIXING  FEED.  21 

wide  at  the  top,  and  2  feet  9  inches  deep,  containing  a  dasher  running 
lengthwise  of  each  tank,  was  used  at  station  No.  4  with  good  results. 
There  were  22  paddles  on  the  horizontal  shaft  or  dasher,  set  at  differ- 
ent angles,  each  13^  inches  long,  1\  inches  wide,  and  three-eighths  of 
an  inch  thick.  When  the  machine  was  going  these  paddles  barely  missed 
the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  tank,  which  was  concave  on  the  bottom. 
The  narrow  side  of  the  paddles  cut  the  feed  when  in  motion.  The  feed 
was  held  and  mixed  on  a  platform  15  feet  by  G  feet,  which  was  level 
with  the  top  of  the  mixing  tanks  and  was  built  flush  against  the  tanks. 
The  machine  was  made  up  of  two  sections,  so  that  either  one  could  be 
used  separately.  A  single  mixing  machine  built  along  similar  lines, 
but  upright  instead  of  horizontal,  was  used  at  station  No.  2,  but  this 
did  not  give  very  satisfactory  results  as  the  consistency  of  the  feed 
varied  when  run  out  at  the  bottom  of  the  tank.  This  tank  had  only 
one  spout  or  valve,  but  later  a  second  valve  was  inserted,  which  saved 
considerable  time  in  filling  the  feeding  pails.  Each  tank  at  station 
No.  4  had  two  valves  for  letting  out  the  feed,  A  smaller  mixing 
machine  made  in  the  form  of  a  drum  was  used  at  two  feeding  stations 
not  described  in  this  bulletin.  These  drums  opened  on  the  side  and 
could  be  dumped  quickly,  but  their  capacity  was  small.  All  of  the 
tanks  and  mixing  machines  are  fitted  with  steam  pipes  so  that  in 
cold  weather  the  feed  can  be  heated  and  fed  while  warm.  If  the 
feed  is  to  be  fed  warm  the  milk  is  heated  before  adding  the  meal 
and  flour. 

COKSISTEXCY  OF  THE  FEED. 

The  feed  is  mixed  to  the  consistency  of  thick  cream,  or  so  that  it 
will  drip  from  the  tip  of  a  wooden  spoon.  In  very  hot  weather  it  is 
advisable  to  mix  the  feed  thinner  than  in  cooler  weather,  and  results 
appear  to  indicate  that  one  feed  daily  of  a  thin  mixture  with  one  or 
two  thicker  feeds  makes  the  best  feeding  plan,  although  opinions 
differ  on  this  point.  The  chickens  seem  to  prefer  the  thicker  feed, 
but  it  is  apt  to  satisfy  their  appetites  before  they  have  consumed  as 
much  feed  as  they  would  if  the  mixture  was  thinner.  This  matter 
has  to  be  left  largely  to  the  judgment  of  the  feeder,  but  it  should  be 
observed  carefully.  As  the  birds  receive  no  liquid  except  what  they 
get  in  their  feed,  it  is  necessary  to  use  quite  a  large  proportion  of 
milk  in  the  feed.  The  percentage  of  milk  used  seems  to  depend  on 
the  kind  of  gi-ains  in  the  mixture,  on  the  weather,  and  on  the  feeder. 
It  varies  from  55  to  70  per  cent,  and  an  average  of  60  per  cent  or  a 
trifle  higher  seems  to  give  very  good  results. 

The  successful  feeding  of  poultry  depends  largely  on  the  ability  of 
the  feeder  to  notice  the  condition  of  the  chickens  on  feed.  Birds 
should  be  fed  lightly  for  the  fii-st  two  or  three  feeds,  gi-adually  increas- 


22  FATTENING   POULTRY. 

ing  the  amount  until  thoy  receive  all  they  will  eat  up  clean.  The 
feed  is  poured  into  the  troughs  by  the  feeder,  who  walks  rapidly 
through  the  aisles  between  the  batteries,  feeding  a  large  number  of 
birds  in  a  short  time.  The  condition  of  the  birds  when  they  go  into 
the  battery  and  the  length  of  the  feeding  period  have  considerable 
influence  on  how  soon  to  feed  the  birds  the  maximum  amount.  Ordi- 
narily the  birds  are  rather  hungry  when  they  go  into  the  batteries, 
especially  if  they  have  been  shipped  in  by  express,  and  they  can  be 
fed  quite  freely  from  the  first  feed.  If  they  have  feed  in  their  crops 
when  put  into  the  batteries,  it  is  usual  to  feed  very  lightly  for  two  or 
three  feeds  until  they  are  quite  hungry  and  have  become  accustomed 
to  their  new  surroundings.  Observations  made  on  a  considerable 
number  of  birds  fed  within  a  short  time  after  they  were  put  into  the 
batteries  showed  that  this  practice  was  a  good  one  under  certain  con- 
ditions, and  that  in  many  instances  it  was  not  advisable  to  feed  a  light 
ration  as  long  as  is  ordinarily  advised  in  fattening  chickens.  The 
main  object  in  feeding  should  be  to  keep  the  birds'  appetites  keen 
and  at  the  same  time  make  them  eat  as  much  feed  as  they  can  assimi- 
late. 

NXTMBER  OF  TIMES  TO  FEED  DAILY. 

Birds  are  fed  from  two  to  five  times  a  day,  but  the  more  common 
practice  is  to  feed  either  two  or  three  times.  A  skillful  feeder  can 
get  good  results  feeding  twice  daily  and  many  prefer  this  method; 
but  excellent  results  are  secured  by  feeding  three  times  a  day,  even  by 
those  who  are  not  experienced  feeders.  An  inexperienced  person  is 
apt  to  get  better  results  by  feeding  three  times  a  day  rather  than 
twice.  Regular  feeding  is  necessary,  and  if  the  birds  are  fed  twice 
daily  the  intervals  between  the  feeding  times  should  be  as  nearly  equal 
as  possible.  In  this  case  it  is  well  to  feed  at  6.30  a.  m.  and  3  p.  m. 
If  the  birds  are  fed  three  times,  feed  at  6.30  a.  m.,  12  noon,  and  4  p.  m. 
The  feeding  hours  must  be  regulated  somewhat  by  the  season  of  the 
year,  by  the  appetite  of  the  birds,  and  by  the  hours  which  the  men  are 
employed.  By  feeding  a  small  amount  often,  the  birds  can  be  made 
to  eat  a  larger  quantity  and  their  appetites  kept  keener.  Each  feeder 
must  decide  for  himself  whether  there  is  enough  to  be  gained  by 
feeding  oftener  to  pay  for  the  extra  labor  involved. 

A  good  many  birds  die  when  on  feed,  especially  during  certain  sea- 
sons. The  loss  is  greatest  during  hot  summer  weather,  when  the 
birds  become  prostrated  with  the  heat ;  and  later  during  October  and 
November,  when  many  of  the  birds  develop  some  form  of  sickness. 
The  batteries  must  be  examined  closely  every  day  and  sometimes 
twice  daily,  and  all  the  dead  or  sick  birds  removed.  "While  making 
the  rounds  for  dead  and  sick  birds  some  feeders  find  that  other  birds 


APPEARANCE   OF    MILK-FED   POULTRY.  23 

which  are  healthy  hut  off  feed  may  be  removed  and  (hossed  at  once, 
instead  of  kcopin"^  them  on  feed  and  having  them  hxse  in  weiglit,  or 
possibly  become  weak  and  sickly. 

COLOR    OF    MILK-FED    POULTRY. 

A  bleached  appearance  is  veiy  characteristic  of  milk-fed  chickens. 
Milk  is  apparently  the  chief  factor  in  causing  this  appearance, 
although  the  composition  of  the  ration  doubtless  affects  this  j)oint  to 
some  extent.  The  birds  which  were  fed  14  days  showed  the  effect  of 
bleaching  very  plainly  and  a  large  proportion  Avere  white.  Some, 
however,  did  not  appear  to  bleach  at  all.  The  color  in  the  lots  fed 
from  G  to  D  days  was  more  uneven,  the  l)irds  showing  streaks  of 
yellow  and  white,  although  many  were  fairly  white  and  even  in  color. 
Kecords  kept  of  the  comparative  number  of  white  and  yellow  birds  at 
various  intervals  during  the  season  in  experiments  A  and  U  showed 
that  in  the  former  73  per  cent  were  white  and  27  per  cent  yellow,  while 
in  the  latter  only  59  per  cent  were  white  and  41  per  cent  yellow.  This 
woidd  indicate  that  the  use  of  low-grade  Avheat  flour  produced  a 
whiter  flesh  than  the  oat  flour,  but  there  was  considerably  more  milk 
in  the  ration  of  experiment  A,  and  the  larger  proportion  of  milk 
may  have  influenced  the  color  of  the  flesh  more  than  the  kind  of 
grain.  Allowing  for  this  difference  in  milk  it  appears  that  the  wheat 
flour  tends  to  whiten  the  skin  and  flesh  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  the 
oat  flour.  These  records  are  not  strictly  comparable,  as  the  dressed 
birds  in  experiment  A,  while  uneven  in  color,  were  classed  as  white  if 
they  showed  the  effect  of  bleaching  to  any  considerable  extent. 
Butter  color  is  sometimes  added  to  the  feed  to  give  a  rich  yellow  color 
to  the  flesh,  but  this  was  only  done  at  one  of  the  feeding  stations  in 
this  btdletin,  and  only  to  a  very  few  lots.  ^lolasses  was  used  for 
coloring  during  the  season  of  11)09  at  the  same  station  and  was  said  to 
have  given  a  deep-yellow  product.  The  pnckers  stated  that  they  did 
not  care  whether  the  dressed  poultry  was  white  or  yellow  except  in 
a  few  lots  where  the  market  wanted  a  certain  colored  flesh. 

THE   FEEDING  STATIONS  AND  THEIR  EQUIPMENT. 

Feeding  stations,  which  are  buildings  used  entirely  or  principally 
for  fattening  chickens,  are  operated  in  connection  with  most  large 
j)Oultry  and  QgiJ:  packing  houses,  and  are  jiracticable  in  all  large 
poultry  producing  sections  where  the  farmer  sells  his  ])()ultrv  in  rela- 
tively poor  condition,  provided  the  facilities  for  shipping  or  market- 
iug  are  such  that  poultry  can  ho  held  and  shij>pe<l  und(>r  cold  storagi^ 
conditions.  These  stations  are  generally  l()cate<l  at  oi-  near  a  railroad 
junction  or  center  in  order  that  supplies  nuiy  1k>  drnwn  fi-om  a  large 
territory.  There  are  many  ditl'erent  types  of  feeding  station^,  but  all 
100s;;.i°_iuill.  140— 11 } 


24 


FATTENING  POULTKY. 


should  be  constructed  to  economize  labor,  to  provide  room  for  a  large 
number  of  birds  per  square  foot  of  floor  space,  and  to  keep  the  birds 
contented  and  health3^     The  weakest  point  in  most  feeding  stations  is 


Fig.  1. — Stationary  feeding  battery,  end  view. 


a  lack  of,  or  improper,  ventilation.  The  following  feeding  stations 
were  used  for  the  experiments  described  in  this  bulletin;  each  one  is 
designated  by  a  number  for  convenience  in  reference: 


DESCRIPTION   OF   FEEDING   STATIONS. 


25 


STATION    NO.    1. 

This  consisted  of  one  section  of  a  packing  house  known  as  the 
feeding  station.  The  killing  room  where  the  poultry  is  dressed  con- 
stitutes another  section,  and  is  situated  on  the  side  oj)posite  the  feed- 
ing station;  the  scales  are  located  on  the  '"dock"  halfway  between 
these  two  sections.  This  dock  is  a  covered  platform  running  the 
entire  length  of  the  packing  house,  and  is  devoted  to  the  handling 
of  the  poultry  and  ogg^.  A  spur  track  from  the  railroad  runs  ])aral- 
lel  to  the  dock,  so  that  the  poultry  and  eggs  can  be  unloaded  directly 
from  the  car  to  the  dock.  The  feeding  station  is  48  by  130  feet;  12 
feet  from  the  floor  to  the  plate  and  32  feet  from  the  floor  to  the 
ridge,  built  on  the  "monitor"  style.  The  walls  arc  double,  brick 
outside  and  plaster  inside,  and  are  sheltered  by  a  projecting  roof. 
The  building  contains  20  double-sash  windows  on  both  sides  and  0 
in  both  ends,  with  the  sides  of  the  monitor  top  entirely  filled  with  sash 


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Fig.  2. — Front  of  stationary  foeding  battery. 


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i. 


and  three  double  .sash  in  both  ends,  A  row  of  wooden  .shutters, 
2|  by  2  feet,  are  placed  on  either  side  of  the  building  just  under  the 
eaves.  During  hot  weather  the  shutters  are  kept  open  and  the 
windows  all  taken  out  and  the  openings  covered  with  wire.  The 
windows  in  the  monitor  top  were  originally  hung  at  the  top  and 
opened  in.  but  were  changed  about  Xovcmbcr  1  and  hinged  at  the 
bottom.  This  change  imi)rovc(l  the  ventilation  in  the  house,  as  it 
tended  to  prevent  the  incoming  tiii-  from  ftilling  directly  on  the  birds 
in  the  l)atteries.  About  one  li:ilf  of  one  sidc'of  the  house  was  built 
against  another  pai't  of  the  packing  hou<e.  and  a  dirt  bank  came  up 
about  T)  feet  against  one  end.  thus  cutting  otf  considerable  ventila- 
tion during  hot  weather. 

This  house  was  equipjx'd  with  stationary  I)atteries.  four  ticis  high, 
as  illustrated  in  text  figures  1  and  2.  Eight  chickens  or  ('•  hens 
were   placed   in   each   division,   and    as  each    l)attery   contained    50 


26  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

pens,  it  would  hold  448  chickens,  but  generally  450  birds  were  put 
in  eacli  battery.  Later  in  the  season,  when  the  chickens  brought  in 
would  weigh  from  3  to  4  pounds,  only  6  birds  were  placed  in  each 
compartment.  The  floors  of  each  tier  were  1-inch  mesh  wire,  such 
as  is  ordinarily  used  for  confining  chickens,  with  a  roosting  board 
3  inches  wide,  2  feet  10  inches  long  and  1  inch  thick,  laid  across 
the  center  of  each  division  and  set  in  between  nails,  so  that  it  could 
be  easily  removed.  The  sides  of  the  battery  are  wooden  slats  oc 
laths,  with  a  space  of  If  inches  between  them,  with  wire  rods  set  in 
the  center  of  the  furring  in  the  front  of  the  battery.  The  dropping 
pan  is  made  of  galvanized  iron  with  the  edge  turned  up  in  front 
and  slides  under  each  compartment,  3|  inches  below  the  wire  floor. 
There  is  a  4-inch  air  space  which  divides  the  battery  into  two  parts, 
as  shown  in  the  accompanying  cut.  Feeding  troughs  made  of  cypress, 
2f  inches  on  the  side  and  3J  inches  across  the  top,  inside  measure- 
ments, were  hung  along  the  front  of  each  tier  of  coops,  supported 
by  wooden  strips  10  by  3  inches,  cut  to  fit  the  troughs,  fastened  with 
only  one  nail  so  that  they  can  be  pushed  up  into  the  battery  when 
the  troughs  are  removed.  The  center  of  the  cut  in  this  supporting 
strip  is  2^  inches  from  the  front  of  the  battery,  allowing  about  1  inch 
between  the  front  of  the  batterj'^  and  the  edge  of  the  trough. 

This  house  was  arranged  with  a  broad  center  aisle  8  feet  wide, 
running  lengthwise  of  the  house,  with  side  aisles  between  the  bat- 
teries, which  were  34  inches  apart,  and  extended  from  the  center 
aisle  to  the  sides  of  the  room.  The  side  windows  were  at  the  end  of 
the  narrow  aisles.  This  allowed  the  feeder  to  push  the  feed  truck 
through  the  center  aisle  and  one  pail  of  feed  would  generally  feed 
two  tiers  of  birds,  so  that  it  only  took  four  trips  in  each  side  aisle  to 
feed  the  part  of  each  battery  which  faces  the  aisle.  This  feeding 
station  would  accommodate  13.500  birds  on  feed  at  one  time,  with 
sufficient  floor  space  for  storing  the  grain  and  milk,  mixing  the  feed, 
and  storing  the  working  equipment  of  the  feeding  station.  The  house 
was  lighted  by  electric  lights  arranged  so  that  the  birds  could  see  their 
feed  on  dark  mornings  and  afternoons,  and  had  four  fans  placed  on 
top  of  the  batteries  to  keep  up  a  circulation  of  air  in  hot  weather. 
These  fans  had  to  be  cleaned  frequently  or  they  would  become  clogged 
with  dust. 

The  feed  was  mixed  in  a  portable  feeding  tank  (illustrated  in 
PI.  II,  fig.  1),  which  is  2  feet  wide,  G  feet  10  inches  long  on  the 
top,  5  feet  G  inches  long  on  the  bottom,  and  2  feet  1  inch  deep. 
This  tank  is  built  of  wood  and  contains  a  spout  or  valve  at  one  end 
from  which  the  feeding  pails  are  filled.  The  truck  ran  on  four 
wheels,  a  stationary  pair  at  the  end  and  two  pivot  wheels  in  front,  so 
that  it  could  be  turned  easily.  The  dropping  pans  were  cleaned  by 
scraping  with  a  piece  of  galvanized  iron  8  by  G  inches,  one  edge 


DESCRIPTION   OF   FEEDING   STATIONS.  27 

curved  over  to  make  a  handle.  A  hook,  made  of  bent  wire,  was  used 
to  pull  out  the  droppings  tray.  The  manure  was  scraped  into  a 
truck  21  inches  wide,  4  feet  long  on  the  bottom,  4  feet  9  inches  on  the 
top,  and  10  inches  deep,  with  a  removable  slat  across  the  top  to  rest 
the  tray  on  while  it  was  being  cleaned.  This  truck  contained  one 
small  pivot  Avheel  on  either  end,  with  a  pair  of  larger  stationary 
wheels  in  the  center.  The  portable  crate  or  truck  used  for  moving 
the  birds  is  shown  in  figure  2  of  Plate  II.  This  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  with  feed  troughs  in  the  center,  and  is  covered  with  2-inch  mesh 
poultry  wire.  The  crate  is  5  feet  5  inches  long,  5  feet  2  inches  high, 
and  3  feet  2  inches  wide,  with  doors  hinged  at  the  top,  which  swing 
in  and  are  held  open  by  a  curved  hook  shaped  like  a  letter  U. 

STATION   NO.    li. 

Feeding  station  No.  2,  shown  in  Plate  IV,  is  entirely  separate  from 
the  other  sections  of  the  packing  house.  The  building  is  42  feet  wide 
by  120  feet  long.  14  feet  to  the  caves  and  about  15  feet  to  the  top  of 
the  building  proper,  which  has  a  monitor  top  9  feet  wide  extending 
5  feet  (')  inches  above  it.  Each  side  of  the  monitor  top  is  divided  into 
two  tiers  of  shutters,  20  in  each  tier,  hinged  at  the  top,  which  swing 
out.  Each  side  has  18  single-sash  windows,  set  aljout  2  feet  below 
the  eaves,  and  (5  sash  in  either  end.  There  are  two  tiers  of  shutters 
2  feet  9  inches  wide  extending  around  three  sides  of  the  house,  just 
above  the  floor,  which  are  hung  at  the  top  and  swing  out.  Tlie  east 
side — the  building  running  north  and  south — has  doors  which  slide 
up  toward  the  eaves  in  place  of  the  shutters.  These  shutters  when 
tilted  out  shade  the  building  during  hot,  sunny  days.  All  of  the 
shutters  are  made  of  ^-inch  matched  lumber,  and  the  sides  of  tlie 
house  are  built  of  ship  lap  ^  inch  thick  and  5^  inches  wide. 

Many  of  the  birds  in  this  house  were  sick,  owing  in  some  cases  to 
their  condition  when  they  reached  the  packing  house,  but  in  most  cases 
to  drafts  in  the  feeding  station.  The  shutters  had  warped  souiewhat 
and  did  not  fit  tightly,  so  that  the  house  was  very  drafty,  as  it  was 
customary  to  keep  part  of  the  shutters  oj^cn  in  the  monitor  top.  This 
is  a  good  house  for  sunnner  feeding,  as  it  can  be  thrown  almost 
entirely  open,  so  as  to  get  all  of  the  fresh  air  possil>]e.  but  it  is  built 
too  cheaply  to  make  a  good  house  for  feeding  in  cold  weather.  This 
is  (juite  ai)parent  from  the  record  of  tlie  deaths  and  of  the  gains 
obtained.  If  the  shutters  in  the  monitor  top  were  hung  at  the  boitom 
and  swung  in.  the  air  would  not  fall  directly  on  the  birds  below. 
During  November  heavy  duck  cloth  was  stretched  partly  across  the 
building,  about  2  feet  above  the  top  of  the  batteries,  to  cut  oil'  the 
drafts,  which  improved  the  house  but  did  not  allow  sudicient  ventila- 
tion.    This  stvle  of  house  should  be  built  so  that  the  shutters  on  the 


28  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

side  could  be  closed  absolutely  tight  in  cold  weather  and  the  draft 
cut  off  from  the  monitor  top.  Some  ventilation  is  necessary  even  in 
cold  Aveather  to  keep  the  air  fresh. 

This  station  was  equipped  originally  with  stationary  batteries,  but 
most  of  these  had  been  replaced  with  portable  feeding  batteries,  as 
shown  in  Plate  III.  This  battery  is  divided  into  8  coops,  4  tiers  of 
2  coops  each,  and  holds  80  springers  or  64  hens.  It  is  2  feet  7^  inches 
wide  and  5  feet  9  inches  high.  The  slats  in  the  front  are  1}  inches 
apart  and  each  set  of  slats,  which  is  8:^  inches  wide,  is  held  in  by 
buttons,  so  that  it  can  be  easily  removed  and  a  set  of  slats  which  are 
closer  together  or  farther  apart  may  be  quicklj^  inserted.  As  the 
sizes  of  the  chicken's  heads  vary  considerably  during  the  season  this 
changeable  front  is  of  value.  The  dropping  pans  are  1^  inches  below 
the  floors,  which  are  made  of  heavy,  square-mesh  wire,  and  have 
roost  boards  2  inches  wide  by  f  inch  thick  by  2  feet  6  inches  long. 
The  bottom  of  the  first  floor  is  6  inches  from  the  ground,  and  it  is  15 
inches  from  the  wire  floor  to  the  top  of  each  coop,  making  each  tier, 
including  the  dropping  pans,  16]  inches  deep.  The  battery  rolls  on 
four  wheels,  two  double-pivot  wheels  in  front  and  two  wheels  con- 
nected by  a  bar  in  the  rear.  The  sliding  doors  on  the  sides  are  fitted 
with  hooks  which  fasten  into  eyes  on  the  battery.  The  whole  bat- 
tery is  made  of  furring,  Vg  by  ^  inches,  covered  with  2-inch  mesh 
wire  and  laths.  The  feeding  troughs  are  31-  inches  across  the  top, 
inside  measurement,  and  3  inches  from  the  top  edge  to  the  bottom, 
outside  measurement.  These  troughs  are  held  in  place  with  bent 
wires  which  are  flexible  so  that  they  give  if  the  troughs  hit  any 
obstacle,  thus  preventing  breakage.  A  wire  partition  divides  the 
battery  into  two  equal  parts.  A  similar  battery  is  used  for  feeding 
turkeys  except  that  it  contains  three  tiers  instead  of  four  and  the 
slats  in  front  are  2f  inches  apart.  This  battery  is  illustrated  in 
Plate  III,  figure  3. 

These  coops  were  arranged  in  long  rows  running  lengthwise  of  the 
house,  spaced  about  4  inches  apart  in  the  rows,  with  the  rows  3^ 
feet  Avide.  This  arrangement  was  changed  to  suit  the  varying  con- 
ditions. The  arrangement  of  the  batteries  in  long  roAVS  tended  to 
Avaste  labor,  as  the  attendant  Avould  feed  doAvn  a  roAV  till  he  emptied 
his  ])ail  and  then  return  to  the  end  for  another  pail  of  feed,  thus 
making  many  trips  Avith  an  empty  pail.  This  could  be  overcome  by 
arranging  the  batteries  differently,  or  by  having  feed  at  both  ends 
of  the  roAvs.  The  batteries  of  birds  to  go  on  feed  were  pushed  in  at 
one  door  and  rolled  out  at  the  other  end,  Avhich  made  it  necessaiy  to 
keep  moving  the  batteries  in  each  line  doAvn  toAvard  the  end  of  the 
house.  This  frequent  moving  is  detrimental  to  good  results  in  feed- 
ing as  it  keeps  the  birds  restless. 


BuL.  140.  BuHEAu  OF  Ammal  Industhv.  U    S.  Dept.  of  Aohicultuhe. 


Plate  II 


Fig.  1.— Portable  Feeding  and  Mixing 
Tank.    Note  Feeding  Pail. 


Fig.  2.    Portable  Truck  for  Moving 
Birds. 


Flo.  3.    Manure  Truck. 


BuL.  140,  B  j«F»Li  OF  AsiMAL  Insustrv,  U.  S.  Dfpt.  of  Agriculture. 


Plate  III. 


Fig.  1.— Portable  Feeding  Battery; 
Side  View. 


Fig.  2.— Portable  Feeding  Battery; 
End  View. 


Fig.  3. -Turkey-Feeding  Battery. 


Fig.  4.    Two  Types  of  Feed  Pails. 


BUL.    140.    BUHEAU  OF   ANIMAL  INDUSTRY.    U.    S.    DepT.    Of   AcRICUl-TUHE. 


Plate  IV. 


Fig.  1.— Feeding  Station  No.  2. 


Fig.  2.  — Feeding  Station  No.  3. 


f9^^^^ 


Fig.  3.— Feeding  Station  No.  4. 


Fig.  4.— Combination  Creamery  and 
Poultry-Feeding  Station  Station 
No.  5'. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  FEEDING  STATIONS.  29 

Various  stylos  of  pails  were  used  in  feeding,  two  good  types  of 
which  are  shown  in  Plate  III,  figure  4.  These  pails  hold  about  14 
quarts. 

The  l)os(  style  for  a  feeding  pail  depends  somewhat  on  tlie  thick- 
ness of  tlie  feed  and  the  style  of  the  battery  in  use;  the  styles  in 
Plate  III,  figure  4,  were  adapted  to  the  portable  feeding  batteries 
and  were  used  at  stations  2,  3,  and  4.  The  feeding  i)ail  used  at  sta- 
tion 1  had  a  blunt  snout  4  inches  wide,  which  i)rojected  out  4  inches 
at  the  top  and  tapered  to  nothing  at  the  bottom  of  the  pail.  This 
held  18  quarts  and  had  to  be  handled  carefully  or  the  feed  would 
come  out  too  quickly.  It  would  not  be  adapted  to  use  with  portaiile 
batteries,  as  much  feed  would  be  wasted  between  the  troughs.  The 
spout  of  the  shorter  bucket,  illustrated  in  Plate  III,  figure  4,  is  too 
suudl  foi'  thick  fewl  and  makes  slow  feeding,  but  the  other  style  of 
bucket  is  very  satisfactory.  This  bucket  is  12.i  inches  deep  and  9 
inches  in  diameter.  The  snudl  end  of  the  spout  is  If  inches  in 
diameter.  Some  pails  have  a  handle  on  the  back  near  the  bottom 
of  the  pail. 

The  manure  truck  shown  in  figure  3  of  Plate  II  was  used  at  sta- 
tions 2,  8,  and  4.  All  of  the  stations  were  equipped  with  some  kind 
of  spraying  machine,  fitted  with  small  air-pressure  tanks,  which 
were  operated  V)v  hand  power.  A  small  amount  of  carbolic  acid  or 
some  similar  disinfectant  was  generally  mixed  with  the  whitewash. 

STATION  NO.  :?. 

The  best  results  were  scH'ured  in  feeding  station  Xo.  .3,  which  is 
shown  in  Plate  IV.  figure  2.  This  is  :i  lean-to.  built  against  one 
side  of  the  i)acking  house,  and  is  a  vei'v  inexjiensive  building.  The 
floor  is  a  single  layer  of  unmatched  i)<)ards.  and  the  sides  are  of 
standard  duck  cloth.  lO-ounce  weight.  The  cui'tains  overlapped  each 
other  al)out  a  foot  and  were  arranged  so  that  they  could  be  easily 
rolled  uj)  and  down.  Three  sides  of  the  house  coidd  thus  1k'  entirely 
opened  to  allow  perfect  ventilation.  The  flooi-  should  either  be 
doui)le  oi"  else  made  of  matcluMl  lumbei'.  as  the  single  unmatched 
boarding  allows  too  many  cracks.  This  shed  was  i)rotected  on  all 
sides  l)y  other  buildings,  so  thai  it  ditl  not  get  tlu'  full  foire  of  the 
wind.  The  birds  were  vei'v  frtM*  from  colds  and  disease  in  this 
building,  and  it  ajipeared  to  be  an  ideal  place  for  summer  and  earl}' 
fall  feeding. 

The  curtain  idea  could  be  ada|)ted  to  other  feeding  stations  with 
good  results,  if  care  is  talcen  to  see  that  the  house  is  made  free  from 
drafts.  This  hon>e  did  not  contain  any  windows.  The  floor  was 
45  by  03  feet,  with  the  roof  1)  feet   from  the  floor  on  the  lower  side 


30  FATTENING   POULTRY. 

and  13  feet  from  the  floor  where  it  was  attached  to  the  packing 
house.  The  house  was  equipped  with  portable  feeding  batteries  ar- 
ranged in  short  rows  with  a  center  aisle  5  feet  wide  running  the  long 
way  of  the  building  and  side  aisles  4  feet  6  inches  in  width.  These 
batteries  were  changed  to  suit  conditions.  This  station  was  sepa- 
rate from  the  other  parts  of  the  packing  house,  so  that  the  birds 
were  disturbed  only  at  feeding  and  cleaning  times.  The  feed  was 
mixed  in  a  long  stationary  mixing  tank  and  carried  to  the  feeding 
room  in  pails  on  trucks. 

STATION    NO.    4. 

The  entire  second  floor  of  the  packing  house  was  built  for  a  feeding 
room  in  station  Xo.  4.  This  is  a  new  station  and  contains  some  very 
good  ideas.  It  is  illustrated  in  Plate  IV,  figure  3.  This  feeding  room 
is  built  with  a  wing;  the  main  part  of  the  house  is  48  by  140  feet  with 
the  wing  48  by  48  feet.  The  house  is  equipped  with  portable  batteries 
similar  to  those  at  stations  2  and  3,  and  arranged  as  at  station  3. 
with  a  center  aisle  4  feet  wide  and  side  aisles  3  feet  10  inches  wide, 
but  subject  to  change  according  to  conditions.  This  station  was 
equipped  with  a  mixing  machine  (described  on  page  20)  and  had  an 
elevator  large  enough  to  hold  two  portable  feeding  batteries,  which 
connected  with  the  killing  and  weighing  room  on  the  fii^t  floor.  The 
first  floor  Avas  divided  into  a  killing  or  picking  room,  a  packing  and 
small  cold-storage  room,  an  office,  and  general  space  for  weighing, 
storing  equipment,  etc.  Both  floors  of  this  building  were  made  of 
cement. 

The  feeding  room  has  an  almost  flat  roof  about  15  feet  from  the 
floor,  and  all  sides  of  the  room  except  the  wast  contain  two  tiers  of 
shutters  each  4  feet  3  inches  high  and  one  tier  of  windows  3  feet  high, 
so  that  the  room  can  be  thrown  almost  entirely  open.  The  west  side 
contains  one  tier  of  shutters  and  one  of  windows.  The  shutters  are 
hung  at  the  top  and  SAving  out  from  the  bottom,  while  the  windows, 
Avhich  are  glazed,  are  hung  in  the  center.  The  shutters  are  made 
of  narrow  strips  I-  inch  thick,  laid  diagonally,  and  the  whole  room  is 
well  built.  This  station  was  not  occupied  until  November,  but  it  is 
apparently  a  very  good  type  of  feeding  station  and  contains  many 
excellent  features.  The  ventilation  in  warm  weather  ought  to  be 
ideal  and  yet  the  building  can  be  shut  absolutely  tight  in  cold  weather 
if  desired. 

The  birds  were  moved  into  this  station  from  station  Xo.  5,  shown 
in  figure  4  of  Plate  IV. 

STATION   NO.    5. 

station  Xo.  5  is  a  combination  of  feeding  station  and  creamery, 
the  second  floor  being  the  feeding  station.     This  house  was  equipped 


DETAII^  OF   FEEDING   EXPERIMENTS.  81 

with  long  stationary  batteries,  built  somewhat  similar  to  those  de- 
scribed in  station  Xo.  1,  except  that  the  batteries  were  only  three 
tiers  high.  The  wires  in  the  front  of  the  coops  were  1^  inches  apart. 
The  center  aisles  were  3  feet  9  inclies  and  the  side  aisles  2  feet  0 
inches  wide. 

DETAILS  OF  THE  FEEDING  EXPERIMENTS. 

The  records  which  are  shown  in  detail  in  Tables  I  and  II  of  the 
Appendix  represent  resuUs  obtained  at  different  feeding  stations  in 
the  Middle  West  during  the  season  of  1910.  The  tests  cover  a  large 
number  of  birds,  and  the  conchision  derived  from  the  averages  should 
be  of  considerable  value,  and  should  largel}^  eliminate  the  error  which 
is  almost  certain  to  be  made  in  drawing  conclusions  from  experiments 
dealing  with  small  lots.  The  variation  found  to  occur  within  a 
lot  kept  under  similar  conditions  during  the  feeding  test  clearly 
indicates  how  great  the  error  may  be  if  conclusions  are  drawn  from 
results  secured  in  dealing  with  small  numbers.  Undoubtedly,  how- 
ever, the  conditions  existing  at  each  feeding  station,  outside  of  the 
rations  used,  had  considerable  influence  on  the  gains  secured. 

Experiments  A  and  B  give  the  results  of  each  lot  in  detail,  while 
experiments  C  and  D  only  give  the  number  of  birds,  the  length  of  the 
feeding  periods,  and  the  gains  in  terms  of  percentages.  The  total 
weight  of  the  birds  before  they  were  fed  in  these  records  is  793,859 
pounds,  303,222  pounds  of  which  are  included  in  the  detailed  ex- 
periments A  and  B. 

In  experiment  A  the  number  of  dead  is  the  difference  between  the 
"  Nimiber  in  "  and  the  "  Number  out,"  but  in  experiment  B  a  large 
number  of  crippled  birds  were  removed  and  dressed,  as  is  more 
fulh'  explained  hereafter,  and  their  weight  is  credited  to  the  par- 
ticular lot  in  the  column  headed  "  (lain  "  and  in  '•  Per  cent  of  gain," 
but  is  not  included  in  the  "  "Weight  out "  column.  The  column 
headed  "Average  grain  daily  per  head "  represents  the  average 
daily  feed  (not  including  milk)  of  each  lot  for  its  feeding  period. 
This  factor  is  obtained  from  the  daily  feeding  reports  which  give 
the  total  daily  consumption  and  the  number  of  all  the  birds  on  feed 
for  each  day,  and  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  all  the  birds  eat 
the  same  amount  of  feed.  The  total  fwd  for  each  lot  is  derived  from 
this  factor.  This  method  of  obtaining  the  total  feed  is  not  absolutelv 
correct  for  each  lot.  but  it  is  the  only  method  which  is  practicable  under 
conunercial  conditions  which  deal  with  large  numbers,  and  the  possible 
error  would  not  affect  the  averages,  but  would  help  to  explain  the 
difl'erences  in  the  gain  of  certain  lots  which  probably  averaged  to 
eat  different  amounts  of  feed  per  bird. 


32  FATTENING  POtTLTRY. 

The  following  prices  were  used  in  figuring  the  feed  cost  of  grain 


Com  meal 

Low-grade  wheat  flour. 

Oat  flour 

Tallow     

Buttermilk  


$1.35     per  100  pounds. 
1.  35     per  100  pounds. 
2.20     per  100  pounds. 
.  08    per  pound. 
.  015  per  gallon. 
Condensed  buttermilk .75    per  100  pounds. 

The  average  daily  labor  cost  in  experiment  A  was  $7.29  per  10,000 
birds  on  feed,  which  constant  was  used  throughout  the  feeding  sea- 
son. The  labor  cost  per  10,000  head  varied  considerably  during  the 
season  in  experiment  B  and  the  following  constants  were  used :  $9.44 
per  10,000  head  for  lots  1  through  19 ;  $9.53  for  lots  20  through  41 ; 
$12.06  for  lots  42  through  63,  and  $15.63  for  lots  64  through  83.  The 
cost  of  100  pounds  of  grain,  plus  the  cost  of  the  milk  used  in  feeding 
that  amount  of  grain,  varied  as  follows  in  experiment  A:  $1.93  per 
100  pounds  of  grain  for  lots  1  to  20 ;  $2.06  per  100  pounds  for  lots  21 
to  37,  and  $1.95  per  100  pounds  for  lots  38  to  63.  The  cost  in  experi- 
ment B  was  $2.31  per  100  pounds  of  grain  for  lots  1  through  19; 
$2.30  for  lots  20  through  41 ;  $2.43  for  lots  42  through  63 ;  and  $2.44 
for  lots  64  through  83.  The  grain  in  experiment  A  cost  $1.35  per  100 
pounds  throughout  the  feeding  period,  while  the  cost  of  the  milk 
used  with  100  pounds  of  grain  varied  from  $0,585  to  $0,709.  The  cost 
of  100  pounds  of  grain  in  experiment  B  varied  during  the  feeding 
season  from  $1.94  to  $2.17,  and  the  cost  of  the  milk  used  with  100 
pounds  of  grain  varied  from  $0,275  to  $0,352.  Condensed  butter- 
milk was  fed  in  experiment  A  in  a  much  thicker  state  than  ordinary 
buttermilk,  which  explains  the  increased  cost  of  the  milk  in  experi- 
ment A  over  that  in  experiment  B,  The  average  cost  of  100  pounds 
of  grain  in  experiment  A  for  the  entire  season  was  $1.35;  and  in 
experiment  B,  $2.06;  while  the  average  cost  of  the  grain  and  the 
milk  per  100  pounds  of  grain  was  $1.98  in  experiment  A  and  $2.37 
in  experiment  B. 

EXPERIMENT  A. 

The  feeding  was  conducted  at  station  Xo.  3.  All  of  the  lots  in  this 
experiment  were  fed  alike  except  that  the  length  of  the  period  varied 
from  6  to  10  days.  These  birds  were  only  fed  for  this  short  period 
because  the  existing  conditions  were  such  that  it  was  not  convenient 
to  keep  them  on  feed  for  a  longer  time.  The  gains  secured  indicate 
that  under  good  conditions  a  large  gain  can  be  made  in  a  short  time. 

Stock. — The  lots  were  composed  of  stock  of  mixed  origin  put  into 
the  feeding  batteries  just  as  they  came  in  from  the  small  live-poultry 
buyers,  without  sorting.  Each  lot  contained  birds  of  various  weights, 
but,  as  the  records  show,  the  average  size  or  weight  increased  as  the 


DETAILS   OF   FEEDING   EXPERIMENTS.  33 

feeding  season  advanced,  although  there  were  some  birds  of  broiler 
size  in  practically  all  of  the  lots.  The  Barred  Rocks  were  the  most 
popular  breed;  records  kept  at  various  intervals  showed  that  about 
42  per  cent  were  Plymouth  Rocks  and  17  per  cent  were  Leghorns. 
None  of  the  other  breeds  were  represented  by  large  numbers  of  birds, 
but  numerically  they  were  present  in  the  following  order:  Wyan- 
dot tes,  Rhode  Island  Reds,  Orpingtons,  Minorcas,  and  Langshans, 
constituting  altogether  not  over  10  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
birds  on  feed.  Thus  31  per  cent  of  the  birds  were  of  mixed  breeding. 
These  figures  only  represent  percentages  in  the  rough,  as  the  birds 
were  classed  as  l*lymouth  Rocks,  Leghorns,  etc.,  if  they  had  the  most 
prominent  characteristics  of  these  breeds;  many  of  them  were  prob- 
ably grade  stock. 

These  figures,  moreover,  represent  averages  of  large  numbers, 
and  do  not  necessarily  represent  the  actual  composition  of  any  spe- 
cific lot. 

The  average  quality  of  the  stock  in  experiment  A  was  gootl.  ap- 
parently slightly  better  than  in  experiment  B  and  considerably  above 
that  in  experiments  C  and  D.  This  means  that  the  majority  of  the 
birds  were  slightly  better  fleshed  and  that  there  were  fewer  sick  l)irds 
than  in  the  other  experiments.  The  diiference  in  the  health  of  the 
stock  was  hardly  apparent  when  the  birds  were  received  at  the  feed- 
ing stations,  but  showed  up  noticeably  during  the  feeding  period, 
although  the  housing  and  management  undoubtedly  affected  the 
health  at  the  different  stations,  thus  introducing  a  new  factor,  which 
must  be  considered  in  making  comparisons. 

UandVuui. — Most  of  the  birds  in  experiment  A  were  shij)ped  by 
express  to  the  feeding  station,  not  over  one-third  arriving  by  freight. 
In  general  the  distance  shipped  was  short.  The  birds  shipped  in  In- 
express  were  weighed  and  put  into  the  portable  feeding  batteries, 
previously  described,  shortly  after  reaching  the  feeding  station. 
Those  shipped  by  freight  were  handled  in  crates  in  stock  cars,  and 
generally  stood  several  hours  at  the  packing  house  before  they  were 
unloaded  and  put  into  the  feeding  batteries.  The  use  of  a  portable 
feeding  battery  eliminates  labor  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  involves 
less  handling  of  the  birds,  both  when  they  go  into  the  feeder  and 
v>hen  they  come  out.  The  birds  undoubtedly  get  into  the  feeder  in 
better  condition,  and  there  is  less  chance  of  breaking  the  wings  after 
they  leave  the  battery.  After  fattening,  the  batteries  of  birds  were 
taken  directly  into  the  killing  r(X)m,  where  they  were  taken  out  by  the 
pickers  as  killed. 

Feed. — Ration  No.  1  was  fed  to  all  of  these  birds,  the  grain  and 
buttermilk  being  mixed  with  a  rake  in  a  large  tank.  The  buttennilk 
used  was  condensed  and  was  diluted  with  about  2  parts  of  water  to  1 


34  FATTENING   POULTRY. 

of  buttermilk.  A  small  amount  of  whey  and  considerable  skim 
milk  was  fed  during  the  season,  replacing  some  of  the  water,  and. 
at  times,  a  part  of  the  buttermilk  when  the  supply  ran  short,  as 
happened  during  parts  of  October  and  November.  Granulated  or 
shredded  curd  was  added  to  the  ration  several  times  during  Septem- 
ber and  October,  and  the  birds  appeared  to  relish  it  very  much.  Xo 
grit  was  provided  for  the  birds  in  this  experiment. 

The  combination  of  condensed  buttermilk  and  skim  milk  with  the 
grain  made  a  very  thick  feed,  which  was  eaten  very  eagerly  by  the 
chickens,  but  it  was  necessary  to  give  a  thinner  feed  once  each  da3\ 
which  was  done  by  increasing  the  proportion  of  water.  The  chick- 
ens were  not  so  eager  for  the  feed  when  whey  was  used  to  replace 
much  of  the  buttermilk,  which  often  happened  during  October  and 
November. 

Method  of  feeding. — The  chickens  were  fed  three  times  daily,  gen- 
erally receiving  the  thinner  feed  at  noon.  Wheat  flour  has  to  be 
added  very  gradually  in  making  the  mixture,  otherwise  it  will  lump, 
and  the  person  who  mixed  the  feed  often  found  it  necessary  to  knead 
it  as  the  housewife  kneads  dough  in  making  bread.  The  feed  was 
run  into  pails,  which  were  carried  into  and  through  the  feeding  room 
on  trucks.  Generally  two  or  three  persons  handled  the  feed,  one  fill- 
ing and  distributing  the  pails  while  the  others  did  the  feeding.  One 
man  fed  part  of  the  birds  regularly  three  times  a  day,  but  he  had  dif- 
ferent assistants  at  various  times  during  the  feeding  season,  no  other 
help  being  kept  specially  for  this  work.  The  results,  as  shown  in  the 
record,  indicate  how  well  this  system  of  feeding  is  adapted  to  con- 
ditions where  the  help  is  not  especially  experienced  in  feeding  chick- 
ens. A  moderate  amount  of  feed  was  poured  into  each  trough,  and 
by  the  time  the  feeders  had  fed  all  the  birds  once  those  fed  first  had 
eaten  up  their  supply  and  were  looking  for  more.  The  feeder  then 
gave  a  second  feed,  which  was  a  light  one,  only  to  those  birds  that  had 
cleaned  up  their  first  feed.  Generally  20  to  30  minutes  intervened 
between  the  first*  and  second  feed,  according  to  the  length  of  time  it 
took  the  feeders  to  go  through  all  of  the  aisles. 

Sometimes  the  feeder  Avould  go  around  the  third  time,  but  not 
generally.  This  method  of  feeding  appears  to  stimulate  the  appetites 
of  the  birds  so  that  they  consume  a  large  amount  of  feed;  and  it 
does  not  require  as  skilled  a  feeder  as  is  necessary  when  the  birds  are 
fed  only  once.  There  is  also  less  chance  of  feed  being  left  over  in  the 
troughs.  The  feeder  went  through  the  batteries  about  one  hour  after 
feeding,  removing  any  feed  which  was  not  cleaned  up  by  that  time. 
However,  if  care  is  exercised  with  this  method  of  feeding  there  should 
be  no  feed  left  over  to  be  cleaned  up.  When  the  birds  clean  the  feed 
up  quickly  the  troughs  are  left  in  good  condition,  but  if  any  feed  is 
left  over  the  feeder  is  apt  to  leave  a  little  in  the  trough  when  he 


DETAILS   OF   FEEDING    EXPERIMENTS.  35 

scrapes  out  the  surplus,  and  this  is  likely  to  ferment  or  become  sour. 
Therefore,  the  aim  should  be  to  feed  only  what  the  chickens  will  eat 
up  clean.  AVhen  the  feeding  is  managed  properly  the  feeding  troughs 
appejir  as  though  they  had  been  washed  after  the  birds  are  through 
eating.  The  feeding  troughs  are  not  washed  under  ordinary  com- 
mercial conditions  except  in  special  cases.  When  the  batteries  are 
sprayed  the  troughs  receive  more  or  less  whitewash,  but  no  special 
care  is  taken  to  clean  them,  as  they  are  not  dirty  ordinarily. 

The  batteries  were  arranged  to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  operator 
and  to  conform  to  the  size  of  the  room.  The  aim  was  to  give  the 
birds  the  best  possible  conditions  without  making  the  labor  cost  exces- 
sive. During  the  first  part  of  the  feeding  season  most  of  the  birds 
were  fed  in  a  general  purpose  room,  used  for  Aveighing  all  of  tiie  live 
and  dressed  poultry,  for  storing  and  mixing  the  fee<l,  for  batteries 
of  hens  held  only  one  or  two  days  before  killing,  and  for  candling 
eggs.  In  other  words,  there  was  something  going  on  in  this  room 
practically  all  of  the  time,  still  the  birds  made  good  gains.  During 
this  time  a  few  of  the  batteries  were  kept  on  the  open  dock  where 
there  happened  to  be  a  little  available  space.  A  new  feeding  shed  was 
built,  into  which  the  batteries  were  moved  on  October  22,  where  the 
birds  were  isolated  and  so  were  disturbed  only  at  the  feeding  times. 
There  was  no  marked  change  in  the  gains  due  to  this  change  in  the 
feeding  rooms,  which  appears  to  indicate  that  while  it  may  be  better 
to  have  the  birds  in  a  quiet,  secluded  room,  tliis  point  is  not  as  es- 
sential as  is  generally  supposed.  Most  articles  on  fattening  recom- 
mend that  the  feeding  station  be  kept  dark  except  at  feeding  times, 
but  many  of  the  large  poultry  packers  pay  no  attention  to  this 
matter,  and  results  a})pear  to  indicate  that  it  has  no  important  bear- 
ing on  the  fattening  question.  It  is  impossible  to  draw  definite  con- 
clusions about  such  questions  from  the  differences  in  the  gains,  as 
there  are  so  many  other  factors  subject  to  constant  variation  which 
affect  the  results. 

The  batteries  were  arranged  in  lines  with  an  aisle  running  through 
the  center  of  the  building  from  end  to  end,  as  described  under  station 
No.  3  (p.  30).  Batteries  put  on  feed  at  the  same  time  were  kept 
together  for  convenience  in  handling.  The  batteries  were  placed 
several  inches  aj)art  to  allow  a  good  circulation  of  air,  the  distance 
apart  depending  both  on  the  temperature  and  on  the  amount  of  avail- 
able floor  space.  One  great  advantage  of  the  iK)rtable  batteries  is 
that  they  may  be  spread  around  to  suit  varying  conditions.  As  birds 
often  suffer  from  the  heat  during  excessively  hot  weather,  and  many 
deaths  occur,  this  point  affects  gains  quite  materially.  The  influence 
of  the  plan  of  the  house  on  the  gains  is  discussed  more  in  detail 
under  ''Feeding  stations."  These  birds  were  housed  in  station  No. 
3  after  October  27.     The  batteries  should  also  be  arranged  for  con- 


36 


FATTENING   POULTEY. 


venience  in  feeding,  so  that  a  pail  will  contain  feed  enough  to  go  up 
and  down  each  side  aisle  and  bring  the  feeder  back  to  his  source  of 
supply,  thus  avoiding  a  waste  of  time  in  carrying  an  empty  pail. 
The  method  employed  in  this  house  was  to  have  a  wide  center  aisle 
with  branch  aisles  five  or  six  batteries  deep. 

Table  I  of  the  Appendix  shows  the  results  of  the  feeding  in  experi- 
ment A  in  detail ;  a  summary  is  given  in  Table  3,  below. 


Table  3. — Summary  of  feeding  experiment  A,  arranged  according  to  length  of 

feeding  period. 


Num- 
ber of 
head. 

Davs 
fed. 

Per  cent  of  gain.               Grain  per  pound  of  gain. 

weight. 

High. 

Low. 

Aver-       TTi^v, 
age.        S'g^- 

Low. 

Average. 

2,068 
10,360 
11,878 
15,731 

3,907 

10 
9 

8 
7 
6 

Pounds. 
2.51 
2.40 
2.55 
2.39 
2.18 

Per  ct. 
23.5 
26.1 
27.1 
29.6 
18.6 

Per  a. 
11.5 
11.2 
10.9 
11.4 
8.2 

Perct. 
18.5 
19.4 
17.2 
19.2 
13.1 

Pounds. 
5.32 
5.10 
4.40 
4.55 
5.35 

Povnds. 
3.01 
2.55 
2.17 
1.92 
2.14 

Pounds. 
4.04 
3.52 
3.37 
2.08 
3.06 

43, 944 

2.42 

29.6 

8.2 

18.1 

5.35 

1.92 

3.26 

Num- 
ber of 
head. 

Cost  of  labor  per  pound 
of  gain. 

Cost  of  feed  per  pound 
of  gain. 

Total  cost  per  pound 
of  gain. 

High. 

Low. 

Aver- 
age. 

High. 

Low. 

Aver- 
age. 

High. 

Low. 

Aver- 
age. 

2,068 
10,360 
11,878 
15.731 

3,907 

Cents. 
1.95 
2.09 
1.86 
2.31 
2.81 

Cents. 
1.43 
.  .99 
.92 
.88 
.98 

Cents. 
1.67 
1.51 
1.39 
1.17 
1.73 

Cents. 

10. 37 
9.95 
8.58 
8.78 

10. 39 

Cents. 
5.81 
4.97 
4.23 
3.71 
4.17 

Cents. 
7.84 
6.88 
6.64 
5.42 
7.28 

Cents. 
12.32 
11.77 
10.12 
11.09 
13.14 

Centi. 
7.24 
5.96 
5.15 
4.61 
5.15 

Cents. 
9.51 
8.39 
8.03 
6.59 
9.01 

43,944 

2.81 

.88 

1.40 

10.37 

3.71 

6.45 

13.14 

4.61 

7.85 

The  average  daily  amount  of  grain  consumed  per  head  in  the  above 
experiment  was  as  follows:  High.  0.2593  pound;  low,  0.1132  pound; 
average,  0.1766  pound.  The  total  weight  of  the  birds  was  130.430 
pounds. 


SUMMARY  OF   EXPERIMENT   A. 


The  cheapest  gains  and  the  lowest  average  cost  of  gain  in  this 
experiment  was  made  by  the  lots  fed  7  and  8  days.  The  difference 
in  cost  of  gain  between  the  6-day  lots  and  the  7-day  lots  is 
quite  marked,  while  the  10-day  lots  show  a  considerably  increased 
cost  over  those  fed  9  days.  As  there  was  a  much  smaller  num- 
ber of  birds  in  the  6  and  10  day  lots  there  is  a  considerable  pos- 
sibility of  error  in  drawing  conclusions  from  a  comparison  between 
them  and  the  lots  fed  7,  8,  and  9  days.  Other  conditions  being  equal, 
the  lighter  birds  make  greater  gains  than  the  heavier  birds,  which 


DETAILS  OP  FEEDING  EXPERIMENTS.  37 

would  partly  account  for  the  very  slight  difference  in  gain  between 
the  8  and  9  day  lots,  as  the  average  weight  of  the  8-day  lots  is  much 
greater  than  the  weight  of  the  9-day  lots.  This  would  also  tend  to 
cause  the  increase  of  the  cost  of  gain  in  the  8-day  lots  as  compared 
with  the  7-day  lots.  This  table  shows  a  marked  advantage  in  7-day 
feeding  over  either  a  shorter  or  a  longer  period  in  producing  cheap 
gains,  but  the  fact  that  the  quality  of  the  flesh  and  the  appearance 
of  the  bird  improves  with  the  length  of  the  feeding  period,  as 
previously  shown,  should  be  considered  in  determining  the  best 
length  of  time  to  feed  the  birds. 

EXPERIMENT    B. 

The  lots  in  experiment  B  were  fed  from  0  to  15  days,  the  exjrct  time 
depending  on  the  season,  the  kind  of  birds,  and  the  methods  of  the 
feeder.  The  feeding  was  carried  on  at  station  No.  1.  The  relative 
gains  secured  in  the  shorter  feeding  periods  show  distinctly  that 
the  daily  gains  secured  in  the  first  G  or  7  days  of  the  feeding  period 
are  greater  than  those  secured  on  the  succeeding  days.  The  gains 
secured  on  the  7  or  8  day  lots,  as  against  the  13  or  14  day  lots,  show 
that  from  the  standpoint  of  cost  of  gain  alone  the  profit  is  much 
greater  in  the  lots  fed  for  the  shorter  periods.  The  market,  however, 
affects  to  a  considerable  extent  the  best  length  for  the  feeding  period, 
as  the  class  into  which  the  birds  are  placed  when  dressed  depends 
to  some  extent  on  the  length  of  the  feeding  period.  Thus  in  order 
to  turn  out  a  lot  as  broilers  it  is  only  necessary  to  feed  for  7  or  8 
daj^s,  while  if  kept  on  feed  for  13  or  14  days  the  strme  lot  would  be 
put  into  a  different  class,  for  which  there  might  not  be  as  good  a 
demand.  But  allowing  for  all  these  influencing  factors,  the  results 
indicate  the  advantages  of  short  feeding  periods  with  the  method  and 
imder  the  conditions  of  this  experiment.  It  is  true,  however,  that  the 
birds  become  more  uniform  and  show  the  effects  of  milk  feeding  more 
plainly  when  kept  on  feed  for  the  longer  periods. 

Stock. — This  stock  wa^  very  similar  to  that  described  under  ex- 
periment A,  but  not  of  quite  as  good  quality.  The  ditTerence  is 
apparent  in  the  larger  percentage  of  dead  birds,  but  it  is  still  more 
marked  in  the  number  of  so-called  ''cripples."  The  cripples  are 
l)irds  off'  feed,  whicli  are  taken  from  the  lot  and  dressed  during  the 
feeding  period.  Their  weight  is  credited  to  the  dressed  weight  of 
each  lot  in  securing  both  tiie  gain  in  weight  and  the  per  cent  gain, 
and  it  represents  the  difference  between  the  gain  as  shown  by  the 
*'  weight-out  "  column  and  the  number  of  pounds  gain.  The  number 
of  dead  wa>s  greater  in  this  experiment  than  in  experiment  A.  In 
experiment  A  no  cripples  or  sick  birds  were  removed.     The  dead 


38  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

birds  were  picked  up  each  day  in  both  cases,  but  in  experiment  B 
special  care  was  taken  to  remove  all  cripples  as  well  as  sick  and  dead 
birds.  When  sick  birds  occur  in  feeding  lots  this  part  of  the  work  is 
very  essential,  as  sickness  among  birds  may  spread  rapidly  where 
such  at  large  number  are  kept  together.  As  a  general  rule  the  amount 
of  sickness  under  ordinary  feeding-house  conditions  is  small.  The 
gains  secured  during  the  last  half  of  September  and  all  of  October 
show  very  markedly  the  effect  of  sickness  among  the  birds.  Dur- 
ing this  period  and  part  of  November  it  is  hard  to  secure  good 
results  in  fattening  under  ordinary  commercial  conditions,  as  the 
chickens  are  apt  to  have  colds  and  may  develop  other  troubles.  But 
the  conditions  under  which  the  birds  have  been  reared,  as  well  as 
those  at  the  feeding  station,  control  this  question. 

In  this  experiment  the  lots  were  sorted,  beginning  about  the  middle 
of  September,  into  roasters,  broilers,  and  springs.  The  roasters  rep- 
resented the  heavier  chickens,  the  broilers  the  light-weight  birds, 
with  the  class  between  termed  springs.  Lots  which  were  not 
sorted  are  classed  as  springs  in  all  of  the  records,  so  that  this  class 
includes  many  different  weights  of  birds.  AVhile  there  is  a  great 
variation  in  the  percentage  of  gains,  the  average  results  show  that 
light-weight  birds  gain  a  much  larger  per  cent  than  the  heavier  birds 
in  the  same  length  of  time  on  feed ;  and  in  most  cases  the  broilers 
have  gained  as  large  a  per  cent  in  7  or  8  days  as  the  roasters  gained 
in  13  or  14  days,  ^^^len  the  birds  at  this  station  were  sorted,  the 
roasters  were  generally  fed  for  the  longer  period  and  the  broilers 
for  the  shorter  period.  One  reason  for  feeding  the  broilers  the 
shorter  period  was  because  the  feeder  desired  to  turn  out  as  many 
broilers  as  possible  and  still  have  the  birds  in  good  condition. 

The  breeds  represented  in  these  lots  are  the  same  as  those  in 
experiment  A,  and  the  relative  proportions  are  quite  similar.  The^ 
records  show  that  16  per  cent  were  Leghorns  or  birds  belonging  to 
the  Mediterranean  class,  but  no  record  was  kept  of  the  proportion 
of  the  other  breeds  present. 

Handling. — Over  three-fourths  of  the  birds  were  shipped  to  this 
station  in  coops  in  live-stock  cars,  only  a  few  coming  in  by  express. 
Most  of  the  birds  were  shipped  a  longer  distance  than  those  in  ex- 
periment A,  and  many  were  shipped  by  freight  although  coming  only 
a  short  distance.  A  car  used  entirely  for  poultry  and  eggs  was 
switched  to  this  station  nearly  every  day,  containing  most  of  the 
eggs  and  poultry  shipped  along  a  branch  railroad  line.  Xo  live- 
poultry  cars  were  received  at  either  station  No.  1  or  No.  2  during 
the  period  covered  by  these  records. 

The  chickens  were  weighed  on  the  dock,  put  into  a  transfer  battery, 
and  carried  into  the  feeding  station,  where  they  were  placed  in  the 


DETAILS   OF  FEEDING  EXPERIMENTS.  39 

stationary  batteries.  At  the  end  of  the  feeding  period  the  chickens 
were  again  put  into  the  transfer  l)atteries,  weighed,  and  rolled  into 
the  killing  room.  This  method  of  handling  involved  considerable 
labor  and  more  handling  than  the  method  of  transferring  the  birds 
described  under  exj^eriment  A.  It  was,  however,  preferred  by  the 
feeder  of  this  station,  who  claimed  that  it  kept  the  station  cleaner 
and  freer  from  insect  pests  than  the  other  method.  Xo  trouble  was 
apparent  in  station  No.  3  due  to  the  causes  mentioned.  The  question 
seems  to  be  largely  one  of  personal  preference,  but  the  writer  prefers 
the  portable  feeding  battery.  Birds  in  the  stationary  batteries  can 
be  fed  more  easily  and  quickly  and  with  less  spilling  of  feed  than 
those  in  the  portable  batteries,  as  the  trough  in  the  first  case  is  con- 
tinuous, while  in  the  latter  the  line  is  broken  every  2  or  3  feet.  It  is 
also  easier  to  scrape  back  feed  from  the  longer  troughs  used  in  the 
stationary  batteries.  The  stationary  battery  is  the  older  and  more 
common  method  of  handling  birds. 

Feed. — Ration  No.  2  was  used  in  feeding  all  the  lots  in  this  experi- 
ment. This  is  a  very  good  ration,  and  is  quite  similar  to  the  one  fed 
to  the  lots  in  experiment  A  except  that  oat  flour  is  used  in  place  of 
low-grade  wheat  flour  and  a  small  amount  of  tallow  is  added.  The 
grains  were  mixed  with  ordinary  buttermilk  rather  than  condensed 
milk.  A  comparison  of  the  results  secured  in  these  two  sets  of  rec- 
ords appears  to  indicate  that  while  oat  flour  produced  as  good  cr  even 
better  gains  than  wheat  flour,  the  wheat  flour  gave  more  economical 
gains,  and  therefore  was  the  more  practical  feed  to  use,  considering 
the  relative  cost  of  the  gi*ains.  Tallow  api:>ears  to  be  almost  too 
expensive  to  feed  economically,  considering  the  possible  detrimental 
etfect  which  it  may  have  on  the  quality  of  the  dressed  poultry.  A 
comparison  of  the  results  with  those  which  follow  makes  one  wonder 
how  important  a  part  the  feed  has  in  eflecting  the  gains,  as  in 
many  of  those  cases  the  cost  of  the  gain  is  greater  than  in  the  present 
exi^eriment,  although  the  ration  and  general  method  of  feeding  were 
the  same.  Still  the  conditions  of  the  feeding  in  experiments  A  and 
B  were  aj)j)arently  about  equal,  and  the  conclusions  drawn  in  a  com- 
parison of  the  relative  value  of  grains  should  not  be  much  out  of  the 
way  if  allowance  is  made  for  some  differences  noted  elsewhere  in  this 
bulletin. 

The  feed  was  mixed  by  hand  with  a  rake  in  portable  feeding  trucks 
(see  PI.  II,  fig.  1).  The  proportion  of  milk  in  the  feed  varied  con- 
siderably from  day  to  day,  closely  following  the  changes  in  the 
weather,  a  larger  quantity  being  fed  when  the  weather  was  hot  or 
excessively  dry.  Ordinarily  the  amount  of  milk  varied  from  OO  to 
TO  per  cent,  although  in  a  few  instances  it  went  either  much  lower  or 
much  higher  than  these  figures.    The  average  percentages  fed  during 


40  FATTENING  POULTEY, 

certain  periods  were  as  follows :  July  28  to  September  9,  65.3  per  cent ; 
September  10  to  October  7,  67.5  per  cent ;  October  8  to  November  6, 
64  per  cent ;  November  7  to  December  5,  62.3  per  cent. 

The  feed  ordinarily  appeared  considerably  thinner  at  this  station 
than  was  the  case  in  experiment  A.  This  was  due  largely  to  the  fact 
that  low-grade  wheat  flour  mixed  with  milk  makes  a  thicker,  stickier 
mass  than  an  equal  weight  of  oat  flour  mixed  with  the  same 
amount  of  milk ;  there  was,  moreover,  a  somewhat  larger  percentage 
of  milk  in  the  ration  used  at  this  station.  The  birds  seemed  to  like 
the  thicker  feed,  but  this  principle  could  easily  be  carried  to  an  ex- 
treme, and,  as  discussed  previously,  at  least  one  feed  daily  should 
be  relatively  thin.  Melted  tallow  was  added  to  the  mixture  of  grain 
and  milk.  Grit  was  given  twice  a  week  between  regular  feeding 
times. 

Feeding. — These  birds  were  fed  twice  daily,  at  6.30  in  the  morning 
and  between  2.30  and  4"  or  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  depending  on 
the  weather  and  on  the  appetite  of  the  birds,  which  probably  was 
more  or  less  influenced  by  the  weather.  If  the  birds  became  active 
and  restless  early  in  the  afternoon,  indicating  that  they  were  hungry, 
the  feeding  was  begun  earlier  than  when  they  showed  no  desire  for 
food  until  late  in  the  day.  The  birds  were  fed  only  once  at  each 
feeding  time,  receiving  a  liberal  feed.  The  feed  was  taken  away  if 
not  cleaned  up  two  hours  after  feeding  in  the  morning  but  was  left 
at  night,  and  this  feed  was  always  cleaned  up  by  the  chickens  before 
feeding  time  the  next  day.  This  method  requires  a  more  experienced 
feeder  than  the  method  of  feeding  three  times  daily  and  refeeding 
at  each  feed,  as  more  judgment  is  required  in  regulating  the  amount 
to  feed,  but  it  gives  good  results  if  done  carefully.  Most  beginners 
and  inexperienced  persons  would  get  the  best  results  by  using  the 
method  described  under  experiment  A,  and  on  the  whole  it  seems  to 
be  the  preferable  way.  However,  where  the  birds  are  fed  only  twice 
they  are  quieter  during  the  day  than  if  fed  three  times.  The  condi- 
tions in  this  feeding  station  tended  to  keep  the  birds  quiet,  as  there 
was  no  confusion  outside  of  the  regular  work  of  feeding  and  cleaning. 
No  special  effort  was  made  to  keep  the  birds  in  the  dark.  This 
station,  like  all  the  others,  was  equipped  with  electric  lights,  which 
were  used  whenever  the  room  was  dark  at  feeding  time. 

It  was  observed  that  the  birds  in  the  lower  tiers  invariably  ate 
better  than  those  in  the  upper  tiers,  probably  owing  to  the  fact  that 
it  is  cooler  in  the  lower  tiers,  as  a  large  amount  of  heat  rises  from 
the  chickens.  The  fact  that  this  difference  is  most  marked  during 
hot  weather  appears  to  confirm  this  theory.  The  lower  tiers  are 
darker  and  the  birds  more  secluded,  which  may  also  aid  somewhat 
in  fattening. 


DETAILS  OP  FEEDING  EXPERIMENI^. 


41 


Table  4. — Summary  of  experiment  B,  arranged  according  to  length  of  feeding 

period. 


Per  cent  gain. 

Grain  per  pound  of  gain. 

Number 
of  head. 

Days 
fedf. 

Average 
weight. 

1 

High. 

Low. 

Average. 

High. 

Low. 

Average. 

Pounds. 

Percent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

892 

16 

1.90 

38.7 

38.7 

38.7 

2.58 

2.58 

2.58 

6,720 

14 

2.18 

57.8 

17.8 

36.8 

4.00 

1.86 

2.80 

8,464 

13 

2.54 

31.0 

15.6 

23.2 

4.20 

2.27 

3.10 

1,657 

12 

3.22 

13.3 

11.5 

12.4 

4.74 

3.77 

4.20 

644 

11 

3.98 

10.6 

6.7 

8.7 

6.49 

3.(i5 

5.07 

7,836 

10 

3.24 

26.7 

7.7 

13.6 

5.84 

2.12 

3.71 

7,368 

9 

3.18 

36.2 

4.0 

14.7 

8.19 

1.95 

3.ti6 

12,199 

8 

2.81 

31.4 

5.2 

17.0 

8.45 

1.82 

3.16 

14,841 

7 

2.69 

40.5 

5.3 

16.4 

5.05 

1.29 

2. 90 

1,085 

6 

3.08 

16.3 

6.8 

11.6 

3.31 

3.61 

2.90 

61,706 

2.82 

57.8 

4.0 

18.7 

8.45 

1.29 

3.26 

17,753 
»  18,864 

2.30 
3.61 

36.2 
29.3 

5.4 
4.0 

17.7 
11.3 

8.45 
8.19 

1.61 
2.27 

3.28 
4.18 

6-10 

14.7 

3.49 

Cost  of! 

abor  per  p 

ound  of 

Cost  of  feed  per  pound  of 

Total  cost  per  jwund  of 

Number 

gain. 

gam. 

gam. 

of  head. 

High. 

Low. 

Average. 

High. 

Low. 

Average. 

High. 

Low. 

Average. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

Cents. 

CenU. 

CenU. 

CenU. 

Cents. 

892 

1.91 

1.91 

1.91 

5. 90 

5.96 

5.96 

7.87 

7.S7 

7.S7 

6,720 

2.57 

1.38 

1.96 

9.20 

4.30 

1.47 

11.77 

5.68 

8.43 

8,464 

3.33 

1.47 

2.26 

9.70 

5.22 

7.28 

13.03 

6.69 

9.54 

1,657 

3.00 

2.58 

2.79 

10.90 

8.67 

9.79 

13.90 

11.25 

12.58 

644 

4.60 

3.13 

3.87 

15.77 

8.87 

12.32 

20.37 

12.00 

16.19 

7,836 

4.64 

1.41 

2.88 

14.19 

4.88 

{.92 

18.33 

6.29 

11.80 

7,368 

7.30 

1.28 

3.20 

19.90 

4.49 

8.77 

27.20 

5.77 

11.97 

12,199 

5.73 

1.32 

2.60 

19.44 

4.20 

7.54 

25.17 

5.52 

10.14 

14,841 

5.06 

1.14 

2.44 

12.32 

3.15 

7.07 

17.38 

4.35 

9.51 

1,085 

3.28 

1.63 

2.46 

8.08 

6.00 

7.04 

11.36 

7.63 

9.50 

61,706 

5.63 

1.14 

2.59 

19.90 

3.15 

7.74 

27.20 

4.35 

10.33 

'7,753 

5.73 

1.47 

2.47 

19.44 

3.93 

7.68 

2.5.17 

5.60 

10.15 

«  18, 8(14 

7.30 

1.47 

3.41 

19.90 

5.22 

10.01 

27.20 

6.  09 

13.42 

2.72 

7.87 

10.59 

»  Broilers.  '  Roasters. 

The  average  daily  amount  of  grain  per  head  consumed  in  the 
above  experiment  wa^  a.s  follows:  High,  0.2007  pound;  low,  0.0758 
pound;  average,  0.1449  pound.  The  total  weight  of  the  birds  was 
172,792  pounds. 

SUMMAKY    OF    EXPERIMENT    B. 

The  cheapest  gain  of  any  individual  lot  in  this  experiment  was 
made  by  a  7-day  lot,  but  the  lowest  average  cost  of  gain  was  made 
by  the  14  and  15  day  lots.  The  table  shows  clearly  that  the  cost  of 
gain  is  in  direct  proportion  to  the  average  weight  of  the  birds,  which 
partly  accounts  for  the  cheapest  gains  in  lots  14  and  15.  The  com- 
parison of  the  15-day  lot  with  the  14-day  lot  is  hardly  fair,  as  only  a 
small  number  of  birds  were  fed  15  days,  which  was  also  true  of  the 
6  and  11  day  lots.  The  highest  gain  was  made  by  a  14-day  lot, 
which  shows  that  very  good  gains  can  be  made  in  the  longer  feeding 
periods.    A  study  of  the  table  as  a  whole  would  indicate  that  the 


42  FATTENING  POULTRY. 

results  secured  in  13  or  14  day  feeding  periods  were  as  profitable  as 
those  obtained  in  the  7  and  8  day  periods,  allowing  for  the  modify- 
ing conditions  already  noted.  A  comparison  of  the  roasters  and 
broilers  shows  that  the  broilers  make  the  cheaper  gains,  which  em- 
phasizes the  conclusion  already  drawn  that  the  best  gains  are  made 
by  light  birds,  as  all  of  the  broilers  were  fed  for  a  relatively  short 
period,  while  about  half  of  the  roasters  were  fed  for  13  or  14  days 
and  the  rest  from  7  to  9  days. 

COMPARISON    OF   EXPERIMENTS    A    AND   B. 

Comparing  experiment  A  and  experiment  B  it  is  seen  that  the 
variations  in  the  latter  are  much  greater  than  in  experiment  A, 
which  shows  that  birds  vary  greatly  m  their  ability  to  put  on  flesh, 
and  that  this  variation  is  most  marked  in  the  longer  feeding 
periods.  It  took  the  same  average  amount  of  grain  to  produce  a 
pound  of  gain  in  both  experiments,  but  the  average  total  cost  of 
producing  a  pound  of  flesh  is  2.48  cents  greater  in  experiment  B  than 
in  experiment  A,  while  the  average  food  cost  is  1.29  cents  greater. 
Comparing  lots  fed  from  6  up  to  10  days  in  both  experiments  it  is 
found  that  the  average  gain  was  3.4  per  cent  greater,  the  grain  per 
pound  gain  0.23  pound  less,  the  cost  of  labor  1.32  cents  less,  the  cost 
of  feed  1.42  cents  less,  and  the  total  cost  2.74  cents  less  in  experiment 
A  than  in  experiment  B.  Therefore  the  ration  in  experiment  A  was  a 
cheaper  feeding  ration  than  that  used  in  experiment  B,  or,  in  other 
words,  low-grade  wheat  flour  produced  cheaper  gains  in  fattening 
chickens  than  oat  flour.  However,  the  increased  amount  of  milk  and 
the  diflferent  methods  of  management  undoubtedly  affected  the  results 
to  some  extent.  The  cost  of  labor  is  a  very  important  item  and  mate- 
rially affects  the  cost  of  gain.  The  method  of  feeding  in  experiment 
A  appears  to  be  better  than  in  experiment  B,  showing  that  feeding 
three  times  daily  is  better  than  feeding  twice  daily.  All  of  these 
factors  are  closely  related,  which  makes  it  impossible  to  determine  the 
relative  importance  of  each. 

EXPERIMENT   C. 

The  quality  and  condition  of  the  stock  in  this  experiment  were 
fair,  although  a  little  lower  in  quality  than  the  stock  in  experiments 
A  and  B.  The  housing  and  feeding  conditions  were  slightly  un- 
favorable during  most  of  the  period,  as  the  birds  were  housed  in  a 
rented  feeding  station,  previously  described  as  station  No.  5,  until 
about  the  middle  of  November;  after  that  the  feeding  was  carried 
on  at  station  No.  4.  As  the  company  intended  to  move  their  birds 
as  soon  as  the  new  plant  could  be  erected,  no  special  effort  was  made 
to  improve  conditions  in  the  rented  feeding  station;  consequently 
much  of  the  work  was  done  at  a  disadvantage,  which  undoubtedly 
affected  the  results  to  some  extent. 


DETAILS   OF   FEEDING   EXPERIMENTS. 


43 


The  lots  in  this  experiment  were  fed  ration  No.  1,  except  that  the 
proportion  of  corn  meal  and  flour  was  varied  throughout  the  feed- 
ing season,  and  that  during  the  latter  part  of  the  period  covered  by 
this  record  the  amount  of  corn  meal  was  gradually  increased  about 
10  per  cent.  A  small  proportion  of  shorts,  varying  from  G  to  12  per 
cent,  with  an  average  of  10  per  cent,  was  added  to  the  ration  through- 
out the  whole  period.  This  ration  was  mixed  with  ordinary  butter- 
milk obtained  directly  from  a  creamery,  the  proportion  of  milk  in 
the  ration  varying  from  58  to  65  per  cent,  with  an  average  of  62 
per  cent  for  the  period.  These  changes  do  not  materially  affect  the 
cost  of  the  ration. 

The  length  of  the  feeding  period  varied  from  5  to  14  days.  The 
gains  show  considerable  variation  in  the  different  lots,  but  taken  as  a 
whole  the  conclusions  drawn  from  the  previous  records  apply  to  the 
lots  in  this  experiment.  It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  the  condi- 
tions at  this  station  and  at  the  station  where  experiment  D  was 
conducted  were  not  studied  as  closely  as  those  at  the  two  stations 
represented  by  experiments  A  and  B.  The  method  of  feeding  was 
similar  to  that  used  in  experiment  A,  except  that  the  birds  were 
given  a  very  light  feed  at  noon  and  not  fed  a  second  time  at  that 
meal.  A  tendency  to  leave  fe^d  in  the  troughs  before  the  birds  all  of 
the  time  was  observed.  The  feed  was  mixed  by  hand  until  the 
chickens  were  moved  into  the  new  building,  where  two  feed  mixers 
were  installed.  This  feeding  station  (Xo.  4),  previously  described, 
represents  the  result  of  study  and  extensive  experience  by  the  man- 
ager, and  contains  many  excellent  features. 


Tablk  5. 


-Shoiving  per  cent  gains  made  by  ehicken.s  in  cd'itcrimrnt  C,  by  months 
and    hn   Unyih    of  fe<din(j   period    in    (<i(li    month. 


Month. 


Number    r>„,,o.  f„,i 
of  head.    Daysfod. 


Per  cent  gain. 


High. 


Low.       Average. 


July 

.\u(ru.st 

September. 

Do 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

Do.... 

OCtotXT.  .  . 

Do.... 
Do.... 
Do ... . 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Xovpint)or. 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 
Do.... 


022 
209 
73(i 
374 
2>>4 
477 
1.50 
0S9 
879 
99") 
705 
74f. 
139 
S87 
854 
208 
1(X) 
f>lf. 
041 
17.5 
20.5 

980 


Pn  cent.    Per  cent.    Per 


t> 

20  ' 

.■) 

22 

14 

13 

41 

12 

34 

11 

39 

8 

12 

7 

If. 

fi 

21 

o 

21 

14 

2,5 

13 

37 

12 

27 

8 

It; 

f, 

14 

cent. 
27.3 
25.9 
.30.4 
1.5.0 
17.7 
1.5.8 
19.7 
11.9 
13.0 
36.  r. 
32.0 
30.  t; 
34.0 
11.0 
9.7 
12.5 
10.5 
17.8 
27.5 
25.  3 
14.5 
12.  f- 


44 


FATTENING  POULTKY. 


Table  6. — Summary  of  experiment  C,  arranged  according  to  length  of  feeding 

period. 


Number 
of  head. 

Days  fed. 

Per  cent  gain. 

High. 

I/OW. 

Average. 

39,178 
8,180 
6,205 
2,139 
11,629 
21,570 
17,277 
7,039 

14 
13 
12 
11 
8 
7 
6 
5 

PerceiU. 
55 
41 
34 
39 
28 
19 
21 
22 

Percent. 
9 
10 
12 
31 
7 
3 
2 
0 

Per  cent. 
27.6 
24.8 
24.5 
34.0 
13.8 
14.0 
11.4 
11.8 

113,217 

55 

20.2 

The  average  quantity  of  grain  consumed  daily  per  head  in  experi- 
ment C  "was  as  follows:  High,  0.2396  pound;  low,  0.0816  pound; 
average,  0.1480  pound. 

EXPERIMENT   D. 

The  stock  in  experiment  D  was  of  poorer  quality  than  that  at  any 
of  the  other  stations,  and  the  loss  from  sickness  and  deaths  during 
the  feeding  period  was  so  large  as  to  alfect  the  gains  adversely  in 
most  of  the  lots.  Feeding  station  No.  2  was  used,  the  equipment  of 
which  has  already  been  described.  The  methods  of  handling  and 
feeding  and  the  ration  used  were  similar  to  those  described  under 
experiments  A  and  C,  except  that  6  per  cent  of  shorts  replaced  that 
much  corn  meal  until  about  the  middle  of  October,  when  the  shorts 
were  gradually  dropped  from  the  ration.  Another  difference  was 
that  condensed  buttermilk,  diluted  with  water,  was  used  in  mixing 
the  feed.  The  supply  of  milk  was  short  during  a  considerable  part 
of  the  feeding  season  and  water  was  used  freeh^,  one  feed  often  being 
mixed  entirely  with  water.  This  probably  partially  accounts  for  the 
poorer  results  obtained  as  compared  with  experiment  A,  where,  in 
general,  the  feed  and  methods  were  similar.  Another  factor  which 
helps  to  account  for  the  difference  in  results  was  the  condition  of  the 
feeding  station  where  the  experiment  was  conducted.  As  mentioned 
previously  in  describing  the  house  in  detail,  this  station  was  very 
drafty  in  cool  or  cold  weather,  and  the  birds  were,  in  consequence, 
subject  to  colds.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  just  how  much  influence  the 
condition  of  the  house  had  in  producing  sickness,  but  much  of  it  was 
undoubtedly  caused  by  drafts  on  the  birds.  The  station  was  devoted 
entirely  to  feeding,  the  birds  being  disturbed  only  at  feeding  times 
and  when  the  batteries  were  cleaned. 

A  large  number  of  chickens  in  these  lots  had  their  wings  broken 
before  they  reached  the  person  who  graded  the  dressed  poultry.    If 


DETAILS   OF   FEEDING   EXPERIMENTS. 


45 


the  wings  were  broken  before  the  bird  was  bled,  the  blood  would  clot 
at  the  broken  spot  and  thus  injure  the  quality  of  the  flesh  and  cause 
the  bird  to  be  put  in  a  lower  grade.  A  brief  survey  of  the  existing 
conditions  confirmed  the  statement  previously  noted  that  the  quality 
of  the  stock  when  received  was  poorer  than  that  received  at  the  other 
stations.  These  broken  wings  were  only  in  nire  cases  noted  at  the 
other  stations.  The  care  used  in  handling  appeared  to  be  as  good 
as  that  in  either  experiment  A  or  experiment  C.  This  condition  was 
not  extensive  enough,  however,  to  allow  a  selection  of  lots  for  experi- 
mental work  on  this  point.  The  addition  of  ground  bone  or  some 
kind  of  meat  food  might  prevent  the  bones  from  becoming  so  brittle, 
but  the  principal  remedy  seems  to  lie  in  a  change  of  management. 
The  addition  of  bone  to  the  ration  in  a  few  batteries  did  not  appear 
to  affect  the  gains  either  way. 


Table  7.- 


-Per  cent  gains  of  chickens  in  experiment  D,  hy  months  and  hy  length 
of  feeding  period  in  each  month. 


Month. 


August 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

September 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Do 

October. . . , 

Do 

Do 

Do 

November. 

Do..... 

Do...., 


Number  of 
head. 


1,261 

3,091 

788 

314 

309 

1,642 

1,495 

7,087 

1,952 

10,717 

3,480 

3,860 

386 

3,170 

24.526 

2,285 

236 

22,720 


Days  fed. 


Per  cent  gain. 


HiKh. 

I/OW 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

38 

28 

39 

27 

32 

32 

23 

12 

22 

9 

18 

6 

32 

28 

39 

23 

16 

13 

23 

2 

18 

9 

56 

22 

31 

22 

18 

11 

16 

4 

34 

10 

^4 

24 

35 

5 

.\verage. 


Percent. 
32.3 
34.7 
32.0 
17.5 
13.3 
11.9 
29.7 
30.4 
14.5 
12.6 
13.3 
33. 2 
2*;.  5 
14.3 
10.5 
21.7 
24.0 
10.0 


Table  8. — Summary  of  experiment  D,  arranged  according  to  length  of  feeding 

period. 


Per  cent  gain. 

Niunber 
of  head. 

Days 
fed. 

High. 

Low. 

Average. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

2,756 

16 

38 

28 

31.0 

16,323 

15 

56 

10 

,30.0 

1,410 

14 

32 

22 

27.5 

5,122 

9 

18 

11 

14.4 

58,277 

8 

35 

2 

12.7 

3,789 

/ 

22 

9 

13.3 

1,642 

6 

18 

6 

11.9 

89,319 

56 

2 

20.1 

46  FATTENING   POULTRY. 

The  average  daily  grain  consumption  per  head  in  this  experiment 
was  as  follows:  High,  0.2677  pound;  low,  0.0966  pound;  average, 
0.1754  pound. 

COMPARISON  OF  EXPERIMENTS   C   AND  D. 

The  summaries  of  experiments  C  and  D  confirm  in  general  the  con- 
clusions drawn  from  experiments  A  and  B  in  respect  to  the  gains,  but 
they  also  tend  to  show  that  the  14  and  15  day  feeding  periods  are 
profitable.  A  comparison  of  the  gains  made  in  these  experiments 
with  the  gains  in  experiment  A  of  lots  fed  the  same  length  of  time 
shows  that  the  gains  secured  in  experiment  A  were  much  better, 
although  the  ration  was  quite  similar,  but  the  relative  conditions  at 
the  stations  where  the  experiments  were  conducted  would  largely 
account  for  this  difference.  This  would  show  that  the  conditions  at 
the  feeding  station  had  as  much  influence  as  the  feed  in  producing 
economical  gains.  The  records  of  experiments  C  and  D  also  show 
the  wide  variation  in  results  secured  in  feeding.  The  average  daily 
grain  consumption  for  the  season  in  experiment  D  is  considerably 
greater  than  in  experiment  C,  while  the  average  gain  in  these  experi- 
ments is  nearly  equal.  This  difference  may  be  partly  explained  by 
the  unfavorable  housing  conditions  and  the  largec  j^er  cent  of  deaths 
in  experiment  D.  As  previously  stated,  the  station  in  which  the 
birds  in  experiment  D  were  fed  was  cold  and  subject  to  drafts  in  the 
late  fall. 

AVEBAGE  DAILY  CONSUMPTION  OF  GRAIN  PER  HEAD. 

Table  9  shows  the  average  daily  consumption  of  grain  (not 
including  milk)  per  bird  in  experiments  C  and  D.  The  average 
grain  daily  in  experiments  A  and  B  is  found  in  Tables  I  and  II  of 
the  Appendix,  but  in  these  cases  the  average  was  for  the  period 
during  which  the  lot  was  on  feed,  and  therefore  does  not  give  the 
daily  fluctuations  shown  in  Table  9.  The  milk  is  added  in  getting  the 
cost  of  feed  per  pound  of  gain.  This  table  shows  how  much  varia- 
tion there  is  in  the  amount  of  feed  which  the  birds  will  eat  from  day 
to  day.  This  variation  is  affected  by  the  weather,  by  the  condition 
of  the  birds,  and  by  the  method  of  management,  as  well  as  by  the 
kind  of  food.  This  average  daily  consumption  is  reported  to  head- 
quarters each  day  and  serves  as  a  close  check  on  the  success  which  is 
being  obtained  by  the  feeder,  as  the  average  gains  obtained  at  the 
station  vary  in  accordance  with  the  amount  of  feed  consumed. 


CONSUMPTION    OF    CJRAIN, 


47 


Table  9. — Average  daily  consumption  of  grain  per  head. 
EXPERIMENT    C. 


Dat«. 


Amount 

con- 
sumed. 


August  10 

August  17 

August  1» 

August  19 

August  20 

August  21 

AugiLst22 

Augiist23 

August  24 

August  25 

August  2t) 

August  27 

August  28 

August  29 

August  30 

August  31 

September  1 . , 
September  2.. 
September  3 . . 
September  4.. 
Septembers.. 
September  6.. 
September?.. 
Septembers.. 
September  9 . . 
September  10. 


Pounds. 
0.1178 
.1130 
.1380 
.1311 
.1326 
.1122 
.0988 
.0886 
.1138 
.  0816 
.1129 
.1249 
.1250 
.1031 
.1131 
.1102 
.1109 
.0890 
.  1307 
.0878 
.1064 
.1025 
.  1326 
.1074 
.  1.1S7 
.1125 


Date. 


September  II 
September  12 
September  13 
September  14 
September  15 
September  16 
SeptcmV>er  17 
September  18 
Seijlember  19 
September  20 
Sepleml)er  21 
September  22 
September  'Zi 
Septemlxjr  24 
September  25 
September  20 
September  27 
September  28 
September  29 
September  30 

October  1 

Ortol)er  2 

()clol)er3 

October  4 

Octobers 


Amount 

con- 
sumed. 


Pounds. 
0.1108 
.1102 
.1077 
.  1240 
.1541 
.  1075 
.1200 
.1080 
.llKS 
.1440 
.1150 
.1067 
.0922 
.  0913 
.OH^U 

.  iim 

.  1200 
.1381 
.  1329 
.1255 
.1247 
.1297 
.1597 
.  1570 

■  .um 


Date. 


Amount 

con- 
sumed. 


Date. 


October  6. 
October?. 
October  8. 
Octolier  9. 
Octoljer  10 
Octol)erll 
October  12 
Octol^r  13 
OctolK'r  14 
Octol^er  15 
October  10 
October  17 
October  18 
October  19 
October  20 
OctoU-r  21 
October  22 
October  %\ 
October  24 
Octol)er  25 
October  20 
October  27 
Octol>er  28 
October  29 
Octol)er  .30 


Pounds, 

0. 1418 

.  14.39 

.1458 
.1420 
.1W7 
.1574 
.15;52 
.1539 
.1479 
.1475 
.  1012 
.  1W)9 
.ICwO 
.1077 
.  IMO 
.1801 
.1087 
.1S64 
.1912 
.1848 
.1912 
.  1746 
.2035 
.1984 
.1737 


October  31 

November  1 . . 
November  2. . 
November  3. . 
November  4. . 
Novemlxjr  5. . 
Noveml)er  6. . 
November  7. . 
November  8. . 
November  9. . 
November  10. 
Novemlier  11. 
November  12. 
November  13. 
November  14. 
-November  15. 
Novemljer  10. 
Novemljer  17. 
November  18. 
November  19. 
November  20. 
November  21 . 
November  22. 
November  23 . 
Noveml>er  24. 


Pounds. 
0. 1774 
.1836 
.1949 
.2016 
.  1916 
.1883 
.1847 
.2158 
.1898 
.2120 
.1780 
.1898 
.1914 
.1718 
.2159 
.2082 
.1734 
.1738 
.2396 
.1870 
.2142 
.1689 
.1773 
.1930 
.1661 


EXPERIMENT    I). 


August  16 

August  17 

August  18 

August  19 

August  20 

August  21 

August  22 

August  23.... 

.\ugust24 

.\ugust25 

August  20.... 

.\ugust  27 

.\ugust28 

August  29.... 
August  30.... 

.\upist  31 

September  1 . 
September  2. 
Septembers. 
September  4. 
Septembers. 
Septemlxre. 
Septemt)er  7. 
Septembers. 
Septemlier9. 
September  10 


Pounds. 
0.  I5I7 
.1440 
.1758 
.1729 
.2059 
.  1517 
.1249 
.  0982 
.0966 
.  130() 
.1318 
.  1373 
.1145 
.  1308 
.1215 
.1604 
.1183 
.1383 
.1207 
.1185 
.1862 
.  1.523 
.  1229 
.  I.i77 
.1.5.32 
.15% 


September  11 
September  12 
Sepieml>er  13 
September  14 
September  15 
September  10 
September  17 
September  18 
September  19 
September  20 
September  21 
September  22 
September  23 
September  24 
Septemtjer  25 
Septeml)er  20 
September  27 
September  28 
September  29 
September  30 

October  1 

October  2. : . . 

Octobers 

October  4 

Octobers 


Pounds. 
0. 122t! 
.1755 
.1810 
.  1543 
.  1720 
.  18-22 
.1804 
.1424 
.  1023 
.  1930 
.1.328 
.  \2m 
.  1024 
.1750 
.1103 
.  19S3 
.  1875 
.  1372 
.  1913 
.1791 
.1499 
.  1243 
.  1024 
.1(>99 
.1893 


Pounds. 

October  6 

0.2087 

October  7 

.18.39  , 

Octobers 

.  1918 

October  9 

.1704  ' 

October  10 

.2003  1 

October  11 

.1501 

October  12 

.1703  1 

October  13 

.1012 

October  14 

.1499  1 

October  15 

.1074 

October  10 

.1525    1 

October  17 

.1814 

Octoljer  18.... 

.1092  1 

OctolK?r  19 

.  15.5.3    ! 

Octol)er20 

.1919 

October  21 

.2079 

October  22. . . . 

.2000 

October  23.... 

.1724 

October  24 

.1587 

October  25 

.2302 

October  20 

.1708 

October  27 

.1.522 

Octot)er28.... 

.2021 

October  29 

.1008 

October  30 

.1917 

October  31.... 
November  1 .  . 
November  2 . . 
Novemlx?r  3. . 
November  4. . 
November  5.  . 
November  6. . 
Noveml>er  7. . 
November  8 . . 
November  9. . 
November  10. 
November  11 . 
November  12. 
November  13. 
November  14. 
November  15. 
November  10. 
November  17. 
Novemljer  18. 
Noveinber  19. 
November  20. 
November  21 . 
November  22. 
November  23. 
November  24. 


Pounds. 

0. 2287 
•  2145 
.1921 
.1906 
.2233 
.1818 
.1741 
.2442 
.1830 
.1789 
.2483 
.1930 
.2012 
.2365 
.2677 
.2053 
.  2451 
.2,519 
.2270 
.1856 
.1962 
.2414 
.2288 
.2133 
.1965 


DAILY   DEATH   RECORDS. 


Table  10  fjives  the  liijrliest  niul  avera«2^e  daily  death  records  in  per- 
centaires  in  each  of  the  four  experiments  for  the  periods  indicated. 
The  remarks  previously  made  concerning  the  .stock  under  each  exi)eri- 
ment  will  help  to  explain  the  differences  in  this  table.  The  total 
deaths  as  shown  in  the  averajjes  are  small,  but  on  very  hot  days  the 
death  record  was  high.    Octol)er,  as  previously  noted,  is  a  bad  month 


48 


FATTENING    POULTRY. 


to  feed  on  account  of  sickness  and  deaths  among  the  birds.  In  experi- 
ment B  the  cripples  were  removed  after  the  middle  of  September, 
which  accounts  for  the  low  rate  as  compared  to  the  other  tables,  where 
there  were  no  cripples  removed.  These  records  confirm  the  statements 
made  as  to  the  health  of  the  stock  and  the  effect  of  the  housing  condi- 
tions at  the  various  stations,  allowing  for  the  removal  of  the  cripples 
in  experiment  B.  A  comparison  of  the  death  record  with  the  percent- 
age of  gains  in  the  respective  feeding  experiments  shows  that  the  death 
rate  must  be  very  low  in  order  to  get  economical  gains  and  that  tiie 
gains  vary  inversely  with  the  death  rate. 

Table  10. — Daily  death  records. 


Date. 

Experiment  A. 

i: 

Experiment  B.      ;     Experiment  C. 

Experiment  D. 

Highest.    Average.     Highest. 

ii 

Average. 

Highest.    Average. 

Highest. 

Average. 

July  27-Aug.  15 

Per  cent.   Per  cent.  \  Per  cent.    Per  cent. 
1.667  1        0.182           0.123          0.066 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Per  cent. 

Aug.  16-31 

September 

.161  i          .027  Ii        1.031  '■■          .166 
.177            .038    1          .120            .059 

0.262 
.201 

0.108 
.039 
.087 
.130 

0.222 
.333 

.678 
.449 

0.132 
.125 

October 

.149            .023   !          .163            .061              .277 
.463             .094              .207  '           .042    i           ..■?73 

.210 

Nov.  1-24 

.194 

1 

FATTENING  HENS. 

The  accompanying  table,  Xo.  11,  gives  the  results  obtained  in 
fattening  a  number  of  hens  on  trough  feeding.  Lots  1  to  6  were 
fed  at  station  Xo.  3,  and  lots  7  to  14  at  station  Xo.  1.  The  main 
object  of  feeding  was  to  increase  the  weight  so  as  to  get  the  hens  into 
a  higher  grade,  as  very  lightweight  hens  do  not  sell  at  a  good  price. 
In  all  these  lots  lightweight  hens  were  selected  and  put  on  feed, 
while  the  heavier  hens  were  killed  without  feeding  any  length  of  time. 
The  hens  to  be  killed  without  special  feeding  were  given  a  full  feed 
of  corn  chop  and  water  and  were  held  for  several  hours  without 
feeding  at  one  station  before  killing,  but  were  killed  with  feed  in 
their  crops  at  another  station,  the  food  being  removed  after  they 
were  killed.  If  held  without  feeding  and  killed  within  a  day  after 
they  reach  the  packing  house,  hens  generally  shrink  from  1  to  3  per 
cent  in  Aveight.  This  shrinkage  should  be  considered  in  calculating 
the  profit  or  loss  in  feeding,  as  the  hens  which  are  fed  for  several 
days  are  weighed  just  before  they  are  killed,  while  the  hens  which 
are  not  fed  are  credited  with  their  weight  as  they  reach  the  packing 
house. 

Lots  1  to  G  were  fed  in  various  ways.  The  lots  fed  earliest  in  the 
season  received  cooked  corn  chop  mixed  with  condensed  buttermilk 
and  water.  After  three  or  four  days  on  this  feed  very  bad  cases  of 
diarrhea  developed,  and  the  following  lots  were  fed  on  a  ration  con- 
taining three-fourths  corn   chop   and   one-fourth   low-grade   wheat 


FATTENING  HENB. 


49 


flour  mixed  with  condensed  buttermilk  and  water,  which  was  scalded 
before  being  mixed  with  the  grain.  This  ration  kept  the  birds  in 
better  condition  than  th»  former  feed,  but  did  not  entirely  stop  the 
diarrhea  in  the  hens.  Both  the  addition  of  low-grade  flour  and  the 
scalding  of  the  milk  probably  helped  to  stop  the  diarrhea.  Ground 
bone  was  sprinkled  lightly  in  the  feed  for  a  few  of  the  batteries,  and 
these  batteries  came  through  with  little  or  no  diarrhea  when  fed  the 
ration  containing  the  flour  and  scalded  milk;  but,  as  the  table  shows, 
the  gains  secured  in  all  the  lots  were  small  and  very  variable,  and 
the  averages  do  not  show  any  better  gains  from  the  second  ration. 
Feeding  the  hens  was  then  discontinued,  partly  because  the  gains 
cost  too  much  and  partly  because  there  were  not  enough  real  light- 
weight hens  to  pay  to  feed.  In  selecting  light  hens  a  large  number 
were  apt  to  be  Leghorns,  which  make  poor  gains. 

Lots  7  to  14  received  the  same  feed  as  the  chickens  in  experiment  B. 
The  gains  are  very  irregular,  but  a  comparison  with  experiment  B 
shows  that  it  does  not  pay  to  cook  the  feed  or  make  a  separate  mixture 
for  the  hens,  as  it  is  much  easier  to  give  the  hens  the  same  kind  of 
feed  which  the  chickens  receive.  The  gains  are  greatly  in  favor  of 
the  uncooked  regular  feed,  although  most  of  the  lots  were  fed  longer 
in  experiment  B.  A  few  hens  oft'  feed  but  not  really  sick  may  have 
been  removed  from  the  lots  which  were  fed  during  October,  so  that  the 
difference  between  the  "Number  in"  and  the  "Number  out"'  in  these 
lots  may  not  represent  the  dead  in  every  case.  The  results  at  this 
station  indicate  that  it  pays  to  feed  light  hens,  considering  the 
increased  value  of  the  heavier  birds,  but  apparently  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  get  consistent  gains.  Hens  do  not  eat  their  feed  as 
quickly  as  springers  and  are  harder  to  get  on  feed.  If  kept  on  feed 
for  a  long  feeding  period  they  must  be  watched  carefully  to  prevent 
feather  eating  and  other  injurious  habits.  Better  gains  in  hens  are 
generally  secured  by  cramming,  but  the  labor  is  apt  to  make  the 
total  cost  too  high,  and  while  some  hens  make  very  good  gains  when 
crammed,  others  fail  to  do  anything. 

Taiu.e  n. — lirsitlt.s  nf  fattoiiiifj  Jinift. 
STATION    NO.    .■^. 


Lot. 

Number 
of  birds. 

Average 

weight 

in. 

Dead. 

Average 

weight 

out. 

Dates  fe<l. 

'             Gain. 
Davs 

fed.     1 

1  Pounds. 

Per  cent. 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

256 
256 
256 
320 
320 
256 

Pounds. 
3.05 
2.93 
3.01 

2..S8 
2.91 
2.98 

1 
3 
3 
2 
4 
0 

Pounds. 
3.25 
3.13 
3.28 
3.  OS 
3.03 
3.10 

Oct.2.5-Nov.4.... 
Oct.3l)-Nov.S.... 

Oct.  13-19 

Got. S  14 

Nov.2-« 

Oct.  17-21 

11                47 
10                41 
7                59 
7                58 
5                24 
5                32 

1 

6.00 
5.50 
7.70 
6.30 
2.60 
4  20 

50 


FATTENING   POULTRY. 


Table  11. — Results  of  fattening  hens — Continued. 
STATION    NO.    1. 


Lot. 

Number 
of  birds. 

Average 

weight 

in. 

Num- 
ber 
out.' 

Average 

weight 

out. 

Dates  fed. 

Davs 
fed. 

Gain.              1 

Pounds. 

Per  cent. ; 

7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 

340 
340 
340 
340 
340 
340 
680 
340 

Pounds. 
3.22 
3.46 
2.84 
3.59 
2.72 
3.37 
3.13 
2.94 

316 

336 

309 

314 

318 

309   • 

627 

301 

Pounds. 
3.47 
4.06 
3.48 
3.68 
3.45 
3.74 
3.37 
3.85 

Sept.29-Oct.9... 
Aug.30-Sept.9... 
Oct.  2-12 

11 

11 

11 

10 

10 

8 

7 

7 

32 
190 
207 

57 

241 

9 

231 

288 

2.00    1 
16.20 
21.00 
4.00 
26.00 
.80 
10.00 
28.00 

i 

Oct.23-Nov.l.... 
Oet.30-Nov.8.... 

Aug.  21-28 

Oct.  13-19 ;.. 

Oct.  17-23 

^  Some  hens  were  removed  from  these  lots  while  on  feed,  so  tliat  the  difference  between 
the  number  in  and  the  number  out  does  not  always  represent  dead  birds. 

SHRINKAGE   IN   DRESSING. 

The  birds  were  dressed  and  put  into  cold  storage.  The  loss  of 
weight  or  shrinkage  in  dressing  (without  drawing)  for  the  different 
classes  of  birds  varied  as  follows:  Hens,  13.4  to  14.9  per  cent,  average 
14.4  per  cent;  roasters,  13.7  to  16  per  cent,  average  14.7  per  cent; 
springs,  9  to  14.5  per  cent,  average  12.1  per  cent;  and  broilers,  14  to 
14.7  per  cent,  average  14.3  per  cent.  The  chickens  at  the  different 
stations  were  fed  a  mixture  of  fine  sand  and  very  thin  feed,  or  were 
fir.st  given  a  light  feed  and  then  sand  and  water  for  tlie  last  feed 
of  the  day  before  they  were  killed.  Several  of  the  pickers  claimed 
that  the  chickens  picked  easier  if  the  birds  were  watered  freely  before 
killing,  and  this  practice  was  prevalent,  although  there  was  some 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  effect  of  the  water. 

CLEANING  AND   SPRAYING  THE  BATTERIES. 

Where  chickens  are  kept  in  large  numbers  cleanliness  is  a  very  im- 
portant factor.  Great  care  was  exercised  at  all  of  the  feeding  sta- 
tions to  keep  the  batteries  clean.  In  some  stations  the  batteries  were 
cleaned  every  day,  in  others,  every  other  day,  the  latter  plan  pre- 
vailing at  the  majority  of  the  stations.  The  droppings  were  scraped 
from  the  trays  with  a  tin  scraper.  A  scraper  a  trifle  over  half  the 
width  of  the  tray  savas  time  in  cleaning,  if  holding  it  does  not  tire 
the  operator  too  much.  Some  prefer  a  narrower  scraper.  Many 
feeders  dust  air-slaked  lime  on  each  tray  after  cleaning.  Another 
good  method,  which  takes  less  time,  is  to  spray  the  tray  lightly  with 
a  hand  spraj^er  after  it  is  put  back  into  the  batter}',  using  a  coal-tar 
disinfectant.  The  batteries  are  generally  sprayed  with  whitewash 
after  each  lot  has  been  removed,  although  sometimes  this  was  neg- 
lected and  the  batteries  were  only  sprayed  about  once  a  month. 
The  frequency  of  cleaning  depends  somewhat  on  the  length  of  the 
feeding  period,  but  batteries  should  be  sprayed  at  least  twice  a 
month.     Lime  keeps  the  insect  pests  away. 


PRODUCTION    AND   DISPOSAL   OF    MANURE.  51 

POULTRY    MANURE. 

A  lar^e  amount  of  poultry  manure  is  produced  daily  at  the  feed- 
ing stations,  and  this  has  considerable  fertilizinjij  value,  but  most  of 
the  mana<2^ei-s  find  it  a  source  of  extra  expense  instead  of  revenue. 
At  one  station  the  droppings  were  washed  through  a  sewer  into  a 
river,  which  involved  considerable  labor;  at  other  places  the  manure 
Avas  loaded  into  an  empty  wagon  kept  for  that  purpose,  which  was 
liauled  away  each  day.  In  some  localities  in  the  Middle  AVest  the 
packers  can  get  farmers  to  remove  the  manure  without  paying  for 
the  labor  of  hauling,  but  as  the  feeding  stations  are  usually  located 
in  the  towns  or  cities  the  manure  must  \ye  removed  regularly  and 
promptly,  or  it  becomes  a  public  nuisance.  In  such  cases  the  manure 
should  be  taken  away  daily,  and  farmers  are  apt  to  be  irregular  about 
doing  the  work-  Various  methods  of  drying  the  droppings  and 
putting  them  on  the  market  for  fertilizer  have  been  suggested  and 
tried  on  a  small  scale,  but  apparently  without  success.  Tlie  farmers 
in  this  section  will  learn  the  value  and  necessity  of  using  manure  on 
their  land  in  time,  and  will  then  be  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  a 
daily  supply  of  poultry  droppings  for  nothing. 

Some  of  the  packers  hope  to  operate  farms  in  connection  with  their 
feeding  stations,  thus  utilizing  the  manure  to  good  advantage. 
Rightly  handled,  a  farm  should  be  a  profitable  undertaking  in  con- 
nection with  a  feeding  station,  not  only  utilizing  the  various  by- 
products, but  also  as  a  breeding  establishment  for  poultry,  where  the 
packer  could  raise  purebred  stock  of  the  best  market  types  to  dis- 
tribute in  the  territory  from  which  he  draws  his  products.  This 
distribution  could  be  done  either  at  a  nominal  price  or  in  exchange 
for  the  same  weight  of  undesirable  types  of  male  birds  of  mixed 
breeding.  The  packer  could  also  select  the  best  pullets  from  the 
stock  shipped  in  to  be  marketed  and  keep  them  for  spring  egg  pro- 
duction, killing  these  pullets  at  the  end  of  their  laying  period,  when 
they  would  be  worth  about  as  nnich  for  dressed  poultry  as  they  had 
cost  in  the  fall  or  winter. 

Records  of  the  amount  of  droppings  from  the  fattening  stock  kept 
at  various  times  during  the  feeding  season  showed  that  the  number 
of  pounds  produced  per  100  birds  varied  from  day  to  day.  One  hun- 
dred '"springs"  averaged  11  pounds  of  manure  daily,  which  would 
mean  over  half  a  ton  of  manure  a  day  for  each  10.000  chickens  on 
feed.  The  consistency  of  the  droppings  is  a  fair  indication  of  the 
condition  of  the  bowels  of  the  chickens.  The  droppings  should  be 
soft  but  not  watery.  Confinement  and  sour  milk  make  softer  drop- 
pings than  are  obtained  from  poultry  kept  on  the  range  and  fed  on 
whole  or  ground  grains.  The  feeder  should  observe  the  droppings 
occasionally  and  feed  accordingly. 


52 


FATTENING   POULTRY. 


In  case  the  birds  have  excessive  diarrhea,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  scald 
the  milk  for  one  or  two  feedings,  which  will  generally  bring  the 
birds  back  to  normal  condition. 

KEEPING   RECORDS. 

Careful  records  were  kept  of  all  the  operations  in  the  packing 
houses,  for  which  purpose  various  systems  of  checking  and  rechecking 
the  different  lots  of  chickens  were  used.  The  person  in  charge  of  each 
room  or  branch  of  the  work  made  reports  to  the  office  covering  the 
work  done  in  his  room  for  each  day.  The  packers,  of  course,  aim  to 
systematize  labor,  save  any  wastes  for  by-products,  and  reduce  cost 
in  every  line,  at  the  same  time  improving  the  qualit}"  of  the  product. 
A  good  type  of  feeding-station  report  is  shown  below.  Careful  rec- 
ords were  kept  of  the  cost  of  producing  gains  and  of  killing  and 
dressing  birds,  while  some  of  the  packers  had  elaborate  records  which 
showed  all  the  expenses  incurred  by  a  lot  of  chickens  until  they  went 
into  storage.  By  a  careful  study  of  these  records  the  manager  of  the 
packing  house  could  tell  what  his  product  was  costing,  and  could 
figure  out  how  the  cost  was  divided.  There  are  many  different  ideas 
as  to  the  best  way  to  keep  such  records,  but  the  object  should  be  to 
show  the  cost  of  each  part  of  the  work  accurately,  yet  as  simply  as 
possible. 

FEEDING-STATION  REPORT. 


Date ,   191 


Total  number  of  chickens  on  feed  to-day. 


FEEB. 


Fed  to-day. 

Weight. 

Price. 

Total 
cost. 

Weight 

fed  per 

100  head. 

pounds. . 

1 

do.... 

j 

Milk 

gallons. . 

Tallow 

pounds. . 

Meat 

do.... 

! 

Grit 

1 

1 

Total 

i 

1             ! 

COST  OF  FEED  PER  100  HEAD. 


Cost  of  feed  per  100  head 

Cost  of  labor  per  100  head 

Total  average  cost  per  100  head. 
Total  coat  labor  to-day 


CONCLUSIONS. 
CHICKENS  PUT  ON  VKET). 


53 


Put  on  feed  to-daj*. 
Put  on  feed  to-day . 
Put  on  fee<l  to-day . 
Put  on  fted  to-day. 


Head.    I  Wei«h..     Av^« 


NtimbtT.  ,  I'oundx.  \  Poundn. 


CIIICKKNS    KILLKD. 


Killed  to-day 
Killed  to-day  . 
Killed  to-day  . 
Killed  to-day  . 


Days  fed.    j    Head.       Weight,  j     Gain.       ^'"aj^" 


Died. 


Number.     Poundg.    Poundx.      Per  cent.  \  Number. 


Sick  to-day head. 

Dead  to-day head. 


Weight pounds. 

Weight pounds. 


(Signed  I 


.V verage  weight pounds. 

.\ verage  weight pounds. 

,   Miinnucr. 


CONCLUSIONS. 

1.  The  Plymouth  Rock  and  other  varieties  of  general-purpose 
fowls  make  more  economical  gains  in  fattening  than  the  Mediter- 
ranean class,  such  as  Leghorns. 

2.  Chickens  of  the  same  breed  vary  greatly  in  tlieir  ability  to  put 
on  flesh.  This  variation  may  lead  to  gross  error  in  drawing  con- 
clusions from  experiments  in  feeding  poultry  which  deal  with  only  a 
small  number  of  birds. 

3.  Muslin  or  duck  cloth  can  be  used  to  good  advantage  to  replace 
the  windows  or  part  of  the  walls  of  feeding  stations. 

4.  If  a  feeding  station  is  properly  constructed,  good  ventilation  can 
be  .secured  without  having  a  large  open  space  in  the  toji  of  the  build- 
ing, such  as  a  monitor  top.  Such  buildings  can  be  constructed  more 
cheaph'  than  those  with  a  large  amount  of  air  space  per  bird,  by 
using  muslin  curtains  for  the  walls. 

5.  The  use  of  portable  feeding  batteiies  is  more  easily  adapted  to 
varying  conditions,  involves  less  lai)()r,  and  turns  the  birds  out  in 
better  condition  than  the  stationary  batteries. 

G.  Low-grade  wheat  flour  is  a  more  economical  feed  than  oat  flour 
in  fattening  rations  for  chickens  at  the  present  prices  of  grain. 

7.  The  average  person  will  get  better  results  in  fattening  by  feed- 
ing three  times  rather  than  twice  daily. 


64  FATTENING  POULTEY. 

8.  The  amount  of  grain  required  to  produce  a  pound  of  flesh  in  fat- 
tening chickens  varied  in  experiment  A  from  1.92  to  5.35  pounds, 
with  an  average  of  3.26  pounds;  while  in  experiment  B  the  amount 
varied  from  1.29  to  8.45  pounds,  with  an  average  of  3.26  pounds. 

The  total  cost  of  feed  per  pound  of  gain  varied  from  3.71  to  10.37 
cents,  and  averaged  6.45  cents  in  experiment  A,  while  in  experiment 
B  the  cost  varied  from  3.15  to  19.90  cents,  and  averaged  7.74  cents. 

The  cost  of  labor  for  a  pound  of  gain  in  flesh  varied  from  0.88  to 
2.81  cents  and  averaged  1.40  cents  in  experiment  A,  while  in  experi- 
ment B  the  cost  varied  from  1.14  to  5.63  cents,  and  averaged  2.59 
cents. 

The  cast  of  both  feed  and  labor  to  produce  a  pound  of  gain  m  fat- 
tening varied  from  4.61  to  13.14  cents,  and  averaged  7.85  cents  in  ex- 
periment A;  and  it  varied  from  4.35  to  27.20  cents,  and  averaged 
10.33  cents  in  experiment  B. 

The  average  total  cost  of  feed  and  labor  per  pound  of  gain  for 
all  Ihe  birds  in  experiments  A  and  B  was  9.09  cents;  the  average  cost 
of  feed  alone,  7.10  cents. 

9.  The  cheaper  gains  were  made  in  the  shorter  feeding  periods 
(7  or  8  days)  and  by  the  light  chickens. 

10.  Hens  make  poorer  gains  than  chickens  in  crate  fattening. 
Fattening  hens  by  this  method  is  profitable  only  under  certain 
conditions. 


APPENDIX. 


55 


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56 


FATTENING   POULTRY. 


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cot— :r"^— "C^liCOCQ-^C: 
C-l  Cl  O  «  CO  O  Ci  (M  O  C-1  O 


Cl         C'i  O  O  - 


tOC^CQCOCOC^-^-'sfCDiOC^CSXC^'^        O         C^         ■«J' 


C3  O  i-i  C3 


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S  c^  M  C'j  c^i  CO  -^  cJ  ci  c<i  CO  c^  C4  c<i  c^  N      cc      c4      c4 

o 


t^      lO  -x;  t^  X  i 


;  TT  o  I— 

i  C^  !N  "N  CC  CO  c^  c4 


-^  X  'w  CI 

cc  (N  cc  c-i 


--  '    "  '    r^  r-  ,o  o  o  o  »c  o  -.5  -^ 


e  ^  S  I^  ^'  I^  '^  '^        12  '"''  *^  *"'  "'^  '"^  '"^        ^        ^        ^        *  X  oi  c5  Ci  S  5  Ci  § 


~XC^'-HfOi— '■^CiOt^'-'fN 


.OOOOOOOOOOOOO^OiO  o 

*0c:c^cir--oi-rcir^r^oci;oxo5  o 

?  O  !•-  ^  ^H  «  t^  CO  '-O  Ci  r--  O  C:  c:  I-  CO  CO 

,C^-»J<l:^t-*':DTt<OCs^HX-^C0O'^:0  O 


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c;  Ci  :t-  X  "  -^  ^^  cr 


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t^x  o^  io 


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i^r^t^ososoooiOQOOoccoc^it^'rr  o  go  co  t^ 

^r-lF-lrHi-li-t»-lr-.i-li-tT-lF-tNCSi-l<N  rl  ,-1  C^  C\ 

a, 


1— i»OClCOOCl-HCl'^OOi— i 
■^i-'SC506<-^^si0C'^O»CG0 


;  r^  00  CO  cc  o 


2S: 


5  05  O  lO  O  30   M   lO 


S  2 


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C^  (M  .-H  CO  '—  o  c-i  -^  — '  Q  n-  to 

»CC0'^C^'^C^ICO  —  co^o^co 


;rOOiO«OiOOC^COCO».'Oif2Q;£': 

!  :^  uo  X  X  X  o  t^  w  X  t^  X  i^  o  c;  c 


;3C^cs^^c^lc<^c^c^^c^^^^c^c^^^c^o^c^ 


O    X    i-H    C5 

CO  ci   CO  c-i 


'-<C;--CC<I-HCrOC:iC:COQ 
C^lCi-— .'-'fO^^CO^CO's^w 

coc^cocococococococococo 


;  ^  -^  ^  TT  *  o 


cOiOt^Ci^CO-^'-C 


'^OTO^C^JI^cir-Ol^XCOClCSi-H 
§  COi-HC^CS'-Ti— I  C'f  cocoes  i-H  1-t '<l'i-Hr^       CO        i-H         cf 


CS        X        O       "^ 

f^       X       S      o 


iCX<M^-OC0'-H^'^xOX 

ic  CO  o  V  CO  T-  c  o  o  j:  -v  ?i 
<N  c^  N 1-*'  ^^  ^  cs  'v'  c^  of  CO  c-f 


^•OXXOiiOClCiX"*>OOX 

^c:t—  — .— 'cor-?i>-oc:r»00: 

OCl-^t^i'-wfOCl^X'fCO 


giJS 


So:      o 


IM  X  1^  O  -^  O  C 

C-.  c;  c;  X  —  --;  : 


i^  i^  t^  tr  I 


!  -i  —  t^  X  =-.  -i 


^1 


^ 

fi-2 


.2000000000  0  000 

S  -;  00  I-  C  'O  O  Q  O  r^  -^  ci  --  t-l 

a  c;  f  i^  f— '  r^  Q  w  -r  C5 1^  n*  ro  --^ 
5ro35XOJX'ooo-.  e^C'>»i'<rx 


c  o 

O  00 
>--5  0> 


oooooooooooo 

ci  (-^  ^?  »-'6  c;  i-^  cr:  —  ci  -^  ^^  o 
■^  O  I  -  r:'  T-  »1 1^  l^  o  lO  CI  ro 

m— 'O-^cixwcc  —  -T^iO 


^»x^*t^xco^o^^oo^^l^^»^ 


Ost^t^t^a:Xl^l>-t^XXX 


o  o 

1-.X 


poooopooooop 


03C^M-^or^xoC5C^:*3' 


—  C^  C^  C")  CI 

"^  ~  ~  ~"^  —  CI  "»■ 'O ->:  o 

-s      .w      .*J      .w     .---CI»-':-Ct^Cl^  —  —  —  — — «         -^ 

'a  S'S'STsTi  sTcTa:  "cTa.  c^  oT^  oT^  E""'  o     ^iirjciiiciiiii; 


cooxc50^'5»^ccoc<i--o^ro 
cic<icic»ci<NcicJci(ciicicici 


M         O         QC        'C 
-.S         -J"         25        M 


CJ  < 


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M       CI       M      e-j 


(Nci<Ncicicicicicicic<5« 


■g.sp 

^1 


j-^-OiO^-^COXClQ^CX-^C 
'XClC-lCCT)0*rTr'^2C*^OC 

3-X-—  lOi-ico.-'GCOOTOcr-cs'" 


3    g 


X  oc  ■»"  u-  ac  r^  c  --I  i~  en  --<  o 
^^  w  o  ^  ^  '^  X  o  Ci  c-i  c;  ■'T' 


m.-i.-4      ci      Ti 


CJ        n         C4  Cl  O '-"-<'- "-I  M  C»  O  M  >-l 


65 


rcici^x-r^poooOQX-^      -g*      -^ 
■  t^i^;i'^O^c^oO'^'<rw'«i"!i      o      w 


M        XXX*VI**COC*XXOVO 


"OOOOOOOOOOOOOO 

vt3  ■OT3-S'WS"0'D'OT3'C"OTrT; 


oooooooooooo 


m»»"ir!»h--ooo»o--N«^«5Sr-  co  »   Q  "h 


•-H   ciW^»^^t^XO:  Q^Cl 


S^  CI  CO 
kO  tC  kO 


APPENDIX. 


57 


;:; 

S 

S 

8°« 

USJ8S? 

Ol 

CI 

«i 

l-Ol-- 

—  OOJ  — 

S 

s 

S  =  S 

o»*e>5«^ 

t- 

O 

«J 

o  oe  o>  OS  00  ce  o> 

9 

s 

s?s 

S3:S!oS 

" 

" 

^ 

"""" 

^4  l-l  ^N  ^ 

S 

?5 

cc 

r:g3 

S3;?s 

•♦ 

•c 

■* 

M  •*  t^  lo  m  00  -i 

OJ 

s 

3 

52g2SSg 

« 

^ 

« 

«  ■*  •*  "5  •»•»  •▼ 

^ 

i 

i 

ill 

ii22 

>o 

>o 

o 

O  W5  O  "5  *C  0»0       1 

§ 

1^ 

3 

332 

o> 

•c 

« 

00  «  "5  O  N  »  CI       1 

■* 

~ 

- 

^  ^  ^ 

CI  CI  c  — 

U5 

55 

T 
CI 

n 

•^  —  » 
g«5 

2    S  S    3??IogSgS? 

CO   CO  eC  C3  CC  PO  CO  CC  CO  cc 

S   2  '-^  fj  ^-'S  ^  »C  O  --C  00 

c^      CI  CI  CI  ci  ■V  CI  M  w:)':^ 

t^        CC  ■V  CI  I^  X  -^  —  *l  -^ 

S      r  ~  r7Ci2li-rc  ;•: 

o     o  o  coooooo 

^      !?  2  c:c^~  —  -rirf-^ 

S    5i  Z  8^  =  2S'cV2^ 

00     o  Ol  oeoo>o!«xo'. 

3     0  o  I  !  I  I  :  ;  ; 

■^  —  •     •     •        l-X  — 

§m;o«o^oooo|22 

.  o    .  o    .  o  .-.•.•.•.•  .•  .■ 

o    o  o  'if.y.y.y.T'.y.y, 

fJ    ?5  5  i^[:'-fe§^n 

C^        M  ci  CCCICOCICCPOH 

<»          J>  g  |-'^|-_~~;_ 

•H      cc  «  Si-2S5xS 

cf    cT  '-'■  —'—'«"  CI  CI  t' «■ 

8  S  SSSSs^S 


S    ^    S    !SS3S3S3 


58 


FATTENING  POtJDTEY. 


3 


O   O   00   00  00  GO  "5 1»  (N  5C  CO -^  c5  05  c^  cc  ^o  cc  ^  CO  !-•  ^  as  ^H  t^  i-it*  t^  e^ -^   cc  lO 

•i-(   .-H   O   O  OS -V  W  aC  "5  ^  O  05  w  O  aC -^  r?  00  <N  »-i  !-•  00  ?1  O  t>- ;C  *-c  iO  N  00   C^  OJ 

»o6   00   »d   o6t-^t^r^t-^»-'5i^oct>^rO"^t^'-C:c»ct-^:c»o*.c:c^ioci^-^c^o   oc»-H 


oorcocc^cDOcs-'rosoi^c^iocccO'^occcoocwosc^'^'^oo'^  osos 

»-'3O*»CCSC^O*V0Ct^C50CXt^*^;Ct^OCC00»O*VW3"<rOCC'^   PQf^ 

o  o  »o  >o  »c -^  »o  CO  io  OS  o  wj  ■'r -^  ^  to -^ -^  ic  ■'1' 00 -^  r-^  OS  05  OS  00  cooo 


•Soo      OS      cc      »-toiGCi^csccas<MOrot^o:Oi-~cc»0"V^-*'V^c^ot^ooo'V      oc-< 

grt        -!        .-;        (Nrt,-^Mf-<i-;Mc4c^MC<3c4'-<i-I'^-H'-' 


<  <N— INONINC^       .-i(N 


— |;s-;M•vM-<l-H^t>.M>oo-<o-^<^^Ol;oc<^• 


*  -^  c^o  ^  ro      Q  ^ 


OS      os303C3C:0'^b*t^r^^Dc^iO»o»0'n'iooc5csodooobco66ooc»      O*^ 
»0'^-n^t>;c^occcrccccct^o050so6o6ososOc^c4wocD'^cc^      co^ 


saga 


1- 

SIM 

c 


00        CO         tO^-wCSQOC^»00:»'^0"OC^OOCOfC'Vt^OrCC^^»CI^»OCCOCt^        ooc^ 

c5      00      oOw-rrt»ooC'^i^»cc^it^*cooos'^ot^ro«t^osc^"*cscco      r'.oc 
ci      '-'      e4c^<NNci'-c4c^c^-r-^c<i^ic-i"Moi-4csoic>;-^'ccoocc'«f'«      c4m 


•  -^  ■^  -^  ■^  re  ' 


CO         ^         O—  '-'OC- 


^  ^      ^^  ^  — •  cs 


•^-^O'w^CM^t^fMC^iMOOWV^CiOr-i-^        ^-- 


eo      c^      ci      ^^'^c^io?^-^^^l^^^c:l^^^o6c;ot^^^'-^^rio•^3CcOl.-ic^i^•^ 


"  O  Oi  t."^  C: 


*--iwcoco*-'^— "'-o^—i  —  — .^^rocororocO'^cowX'^00      ''Too 


I        K  00 


00        lO— ^:CXt^'^Ot^XXCirCXOC0wC:C^L0h-.^^(Nr-'*r;SC;X        CO-V 

1-^      —J  -^  r-^  ci  X  --*  ^  t^  c:  ;c  r^  --  ^i  "^  »o  o  ^'^  fo  ^1  -^  -r  ■-£  oi  *o  t-'i  oi  (^      ^  o 
i-o      focorocororococ^c^r-i      csc^c^c^C'i^c^^c^j—'CO'-i      i-i      i-i      i-i»-i 


•c^icico!- 'XCi(Mr^;cco-^x-^"^rotcr^r^h^ocit 

•  X  o  w  ^  i^  ;o  O  "V  '-H  »o  ^ 


;^H       00       ^       X  o  Ci  X  x^  "^ '^  OS : 


;oc^o>oc^"v-^co— ^cococ^^tcoo 


S  cs      cs      c4      w  c^  c^  c^  c^  c^  cs  cs  c4  c^  c^  c^  c^i  c^  c^  c4  CO  CO  CO  CO  CO  cvi  ro  cs  CO  c^  CO      csco 


■*?  fcij 


12 


-^       t^       CI  X  o  — ■  t^  ^ 


'Xi^'-oX!^coxo  —  c^ir^^»-':L':)  —  OTt^ror^r^ir^co'^--^  xr^ 

1—      tij^j/O— 't^:s-rroxoCiC:cori'^Oi-o-^c.  ox  —  cjr^-^t^ci  c^O 

^         OOO-wCO'-COCsClX-^Ci  —  —  OrOC^C^J-^CO— "C^lXCOCS^C^  C^!N 

^'^o^ococ^lCSCoc^c^^csc^coco^^co'*r"^^■^"H•'-^•>TC^^c^  rnco" 


•CSOXi-or-OOO'^'^O^N-^'^O'^co  —  OX-^:r.  Ot-OCSCS       C5"" 


|l 


i  cc      »o      00 


OOOOOOOCSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOC  CO       oo 

lO-^ioccoscrit^t^t^cdr?'— coc^T^^'—  c.  ■^co*cocoocc5».rs      poco 
_ —  _     .  _- .^ — •  X  o  w  ^  >4  cs      ic  c^ 


30      ^^      cs      cD-f?-iu5^»ccoc^oxrr:c^^-^csc^f^osc;'r^       __^ 
c«      00      i>-      oooo'^r^^i^i^i^cocscoc^c^^ccrocotcosostccOw 


"•^■>J>Tl>iC0C«MMC<3t-.O05OS0000r»t>.00OCOS«0CrCt~'»'        t>.co 


;      ^      w         cc-r.ococsc»oso—    •■~oc  — ?j  — 3QM?6«^ 

COt~0CC5-^iCM(NCO<N<NC^C^CCCC^2 

)Oc5— o£J  O  O  O  O  O  o  — —  ■^-^^-^--  — -^  P_ow 


5        5^        -<■<■<<■<<<-<■<<■<■<■<<< 


=5  CO      -^      "J      c<i'^-<5<c<iQCt~Sco^;Mosi^'rx-fl"r^co 

^00         OS         CO         OCOOSCS*ZOOO— 'C^  —  C^C^  —  MCO-O 


S-<       --I 

c 

a. 


Q  C^  ?^  C^  OS  lO  M  X  O       r^  CO 

-3  LT  t*  X  OS  -^  ^  re  —      cc  O 
cs  c^  rj  -^"  ri  ri  «  ?i  m     ci  « 


5j3 


f>o  00  ■v  r~Qcoxc^os>oi.ocsxo-^iT^r~osf—2 
ro  LO  -^  -^oxoo^c^n-^  —  sscs;o*c^'^c>4C  —  w 
00       00       t^       xrc— «ioi^o«rcrcrO'^-*»oio-n"cocO'^»o 


^wci'MroOQcocs 
oc^xcr- 


CS  C^  C^  »-<  C^  C^  CS  C^  C^  C*  C^  N  d  C^  C^  CC  CC  CO  CC  CC        -^  CS  C^  rH  c^       t^  c^ 


•hO       O       C 

1$  ^  ^ 


OOiCOO»C»C»C»C»0*CtOiO»0»-0*COO 
uOCOC^OOCSC^C^C^C^C^C^CSC^C^iMiCO 


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irt  »S  »C  iC  >^  c 

CO  CO  CO  ■^  CO  c 


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I 


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ooooooooooooooooooooo-rcj--ij5-5a     'Sd 


^    N    eo    '«"o«t-««»o;2C3«3>2SS:2SSgS?5?iSc?8e5§§SS    «?3 


APPENDIX. 


59 


S    S    3 


00     n 


$      9 


2RSS5 


ss  s  ^  ;^ 


8    S 

to     00 


3e«>'r'Ot>-c«535M-Hoooo>ocsGO  — rooh- 


52 


5     5 

a5     'J 


00        « 


ui  —  rf  t-^ 


8    5J 


NM        n        r-l        <-! 


oo>or*aiw^cc^co-^i^^*ror-t^t^t^o 


S3 


?    8 
p4     -: 


pj    ^    c4^-;rf  5 


5    S 


e4     00 


s  ^  ^  ^ 

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S8 


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CO        t^ 

IN       rj 


oot-*X^oc^-Si:Cf<"5--rooo^C^»co>oa 

C^t^OMi0O->Oi.~-icM3>0»Oi000-^'* 


S3 


3n 


«5  ■*      iS      >«      ■*      t-3      «      00  •*  «  rf  M  rt  «  M  M  ^r  -I-  ■*  lit  o  -3  -2  t^  i~      t^  -o      r-      -3      o      r-- 

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c.  o 

^ ^ — — — ^  Im 

lOCO       10       -H       «3       00       1^       OOM-HMNCOM-HWtOMMOtOCJOO       OO       N       N       C)       i-l       ONrtt-'C  ^ 

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o'uj      >o      o>      p      »      c-i      fo-rcsoaooJf-^omox's-H-f'^sji.'iji      't--      n      o>      o      e4      cih-^mm     -jj  V 

5-r      »      "T      JK      f      ;o      t~ocoobi.5«oo'i>2c5t^x--oxr-«xc-)      003      -t      '•''      '''      s>      osoosco     3  S 

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.^ ,  ^  -a 

coro  o      n      n      n      n      o«'^^t-xCit~'*-jroox«  —  -i<-or^  mt^      — <   i-c   >o   ■*   oe^t-os  3  3 

Oio  ^      ^      oi   CD   cc   06— ^^t^i-Jto-^t^ccocc^csocdpo'-scd   cc^^   cs   oo   o   00   ^*h^oo  x  - 

l-H-H  _H  C>«  ?<  -^  •-■  —  -I  "-I—  ««,_rt-H_rt_«  «  ^  ^  ^  fi  (y,  J5_,        2  g 

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OM      -^      c*5      ■'T      10      w      M:^  —  o-^io^^-n-coo-^^tr-io-^xos      lOO      ^      x      00      ic      wxu^t;*     -/i  •t; 

c5?S      M      c\     t-     — <      rt      c^c^rt  —  fi  —  -H      ^_H_<^«i^M^^  •.)«      fij     55     j;j      ^      t*-^cic*    -^  Q 

2  Z 

r>.^^     ffl      CO     CO      «-»      OS     coc'it^-^xxcoc«rc--t^coc<iO'^x-^u5      x«o     to      co     c«     w      -r^x*-'    '^  » 

■^Os       <D        »        t>-        to        =0        OOwCOCO'^iOX'XX'T  —  -O'-Dt^C^*3«55c0        ^H-^        -^        CO        CO        ^H        cOOOi-^       C3  © 

Mco      CO      c4      CO      N      M      ro'r»rocococ^coc4M"rcococo«H-rrO'<"      co>i>      •>!<      rf      •^      co'      eoi-oi-T^^  5 

o  to 
£  a 

o-^      10      CO      X      o      -^      xi^coc^osiotor^^H^OfQX-^osiO'O      r^co      o      os      c^      co      m  —  ^co     *-  "^ 

'^C^         00        *         r-        (M         t^         •OI»t~«COO-:P-"X-)"  —  Xf5T'»OSO-1<         "TCO         CO         X         N         f         X'^tOt^       C  "O 

Wt^      CM      —I      CM      —      CO      xcMXcoco-H35C-)-rcocoro--OX'rm?5co      -»">■      t^      cO      h-      •*      c^2  —  co     S  -s 

rf-H"       co"       -^       CO         «"       CM         CMCMCM-"CM-^eM"-<'"rt'",-ri-rrtC>rCMCM-^— "-H~       Cm"— ~       cf       Cm"       Cm"       CM        i-rcM'^'eM"      2  X 

c.  ^ 

coQ      -^      OS      Q      CO      -^      r^oi-^Q-oosf— ^r^-^r^xcoososCMO^      oscm      ■«*•      x      os      »o      tcococo     ^-  _^ 

S^      2      3      S      "''      c-i      -••csx3co5»r^coxo'Oi~CM,o-»'  —  i-o      -OCM      — .      ^      x      x      XcoxS     ^  t3 

00-^      00      -nt      00      -^      i^      t^xi^rocO'^i^'^cocococot^t^t^rococo      t^co      co      i^      lO      t^      co3co3      q  c* 


tn       j^ 


O       O O O O O OOOO OO O O OO O O O       OO 


o  o  o  o     o 


>o  to  to  >o  X  2  o  lo  'O  CO  r~  r^  o  X  OS  CO  r~  cs  X  "O  —  —  CO  -.o  3'  os  co  o  C  -r  "O  -^  co  •.■:  cm  ^  •-• 
t^^  —  u5  a  o  f^  ox-o-ox  —  'O  —  coos-rr~-rmO-i"  —  Q  co— c  o  «  -2  cp  r~o  —  osl  ; 
osos      o      to      o      ^      c^      ox^'rx-roi-^co'^iotoajos^io'^3      osco      ^      o      o      ct      -^os-^x    ■*-»      .^ 


CM      X      CO      CO      CM      cnt^osooi^cssr-t^  —  ooxxt^oi^— ' 


r-  o      o      X      c 


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•*-»  C»  t*  iO  CO  h* 
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